Crossed Wires
by YamiMagicianGirl
Summary: Saying 'love fades, mine has', proves too much for Dimitri. Wracked with guilt, and driven by a misheard rumour, he breaks out of Court, leaving a distraught Rose behind. Now the only person who can save him from himself is the one who saved his soul.
1. Catalyst

**Hi guys! New story for ya ;)**

**I dont know whether it's been done before, but oh well. If it runs quite similarly to someone else's fic, i'm very sorry, but I didnt steal it, cuz i thought this uup while I was at the Gaeltacht, where they have no computers :)**

**Enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: *Sigh* Sadly, I do _not_ own VA, the lovely Richelle Mead does... Lucky girl...**

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><p>DPOV – CHAPTER 1 – A LIFE OF REGRETS<p>

_Guilt. Washing over me like a black wave, knocking me senseless time after time, day after day. Sadness. Remorse. Regret. The deeds that had been done during my time as a Strigoi could never – ever – be forgiven. Not by the Guardians, not by me, not by my friends or by Lissa–_

"_Dimitri." A very familiar voice choked out. I felt my back muscles go rigid. "Dimitri." She tried again, clearer this time. "It's… me." I remained silent, deliberating on whether to say something. I knew from the first attempt at my name who was standing behind me. I would know her voice, her breathing, her scent, her heartbeat… anywhere._

"_No." _

"_No what?" she asked with a sigh. "As in, no, it's not me?" Trust Rose to be sarcastic at a time like this. I sighed in frustration, just like I used to do in training._

"_No, as in I don't want to see you." I told her, my voice thick with the emotions that were churning inside me. "They weren't supposed to let you in."_

"_Yeah. Well, I kind of found a work-around."_

"_Of course you did." I said through gritted teeth. It took all my energy and strength to stay facing the wall. All I wanted to do was run into Rose's arms and never leave. I would even settle for just being able to look at her._

"_I had to see you. I had to know if you were okay." She whispered, her voice breaking._

"_I'm sure Lissa's already updated you." I shot back._

"_I had to see for myself."_

"_Well, now you see."_

"_All I see is your back." She pointed out. A very fair point. I wanted to turn round, see her beautiful face. It seemed like years since I had seen the long dark hair, the big brown eyes – but my feelings didn't matter right now._

"_I don't want you here," I said flatly. "I don't want to see you." A heavy silence fell between us. I began to wonder whether I had gone too far. Clearly not._

"_You can't ignore me," she hissed quietly. "You owe me. I saved you."_

_A few moments of silence passed between us. I thought carefully about my answer. "Lissa saved me." I said simply._

"_How do you think she got to that point?" Rose demanded angrily. "How do you think she learned how to save you? Do you have any idea what we – what I – had to go through to get that information? You think me going to Siberia was crazy? Believe me; you haven't even come close to seeing crazy. You know me. You know what I'm capable of. And I broke my own records this time. You. Owe. Me." she fumed. I whirled round like lightening, fixing her with a steely glare. Emotion and anger crackled between us._

"_Then the best thing I can do is–" I froze mid sentence, getting my first good look at her. She was even more beautiful than I remembered. I stared at her in complete and utter awe. Even murderously angry, she still looked like an angel – an angel of death, maybe. Sure, I'd seen her in Siberia, and even in the warehouse the other night, but this was different. Seeing her right there, right in front of me, was surreal. Suddenly, I was having flashbacks: how bravely she had fought for Lissa when we had first met, our first kiss, being under the influence of the lust charm, carrying her in my arms when she had been attacked by Natalie, finding her after Mason had been killed, our night in the cabin, and… her face, her agonized, piercing screams when I had been taken by the Strigoi. One year. A lifetime, all in a year. _

_I kept my steady gaze on her as I pondered this. Rose and I hadn't just loved each other. We had been more than lovers. We had been best friends; we helped each other up when the other fell. We had always seemed in sync. We had been soul mates, in every sense of the word. We still were. I still cared about her, more than anything, but I couldn't be with her. Not after all the horrible things I had done to her as a Strigoi. No, there was no hope for me any more. I couldn't love._

_My eyes slid over every one of her perfect features, memorising them and filing them away for later. I tried my hardest to keep my face blank, and I think it worked. Rose stared hard at me, trying to figure me out. From the dissatisfaction washing over her features, I'd say she didn't find out much._

_She had her long dark hair sitting the way I loved – down, without any flourishes. Natural. It was beautiful. She was wearing a dress – God knows why – and it fit her perfectly, showing off her amazing figure. I thought back to when she was mine, that night in the cabin. Running my hands over her satiny skin, revelling in her beauty. Never to happen again. That ripped me apart. I could tell by the way her face was set that she didn't want me to see her so bedraggled, but to me, she'd always be an angel, the most beautiful person in my –or anyone else's– world._

_I swallowed hard, forcing myself to take control. "Then the best thing I can do," I continued calmly, "is stay away from you. That's the best way to repay the debt." Rose looked furious, but she tried to control herself before speaking. _

"_You offered to repay Lissa by staying by her side forever!" she yelled._

"_I didn't do the things..." I looked away, remembering perfectly. I struggled with my self control once more and met Rose's eyes again. _

"_I didn't do the things to her that I did to you." I choked._

"_You weren't you! I don't care." She cried._

"_How many?" I shot back. "How many guardians died last night because of what I did?"_

"_I… I think six or seven." I winced._

"_Six or seven," I repeated in torment. "Dead in one night. Because of me."_

"_You didn't act alone! And I told you, you weren't you. You couldn't control yourself. It doesn't matter to me-" It doesn't matter? _It doesn't matter?

"_It matters to me!" I exploded, my voice echoing round the empty cell. The guardians shifted, but didn't move any closer. I tried to get a grip, lowering my voice –which, to my chagrin– was still trembling with the wild emotions building up inside me._

"_It matters to me. That's what you don't get. You can't understand. You can't understand what it's like knowing what I did. The whole time being Strigoi… it's like a dream now, but it's one I remember clearly. There can be no forgiveness for me. And what happened with you? I remember that most of all. Everything I did. Everything I _wanted_ to do." I said quietly, my voice breaking._

"_You're not going to do it now," She pleaded. "So let it go. Before – before everything happened, you said we could be together. That we'd get assignments near each other and-"_

"_Roza," I cut in, then mentally slapped myself. I hadn't meant to call her that. It was a big slip. I carried on, hoping she didn't notice. I shot her a twisted smile, filled with bitterness. "Do you really think they're going to let me be a guardian again? It'll be a miracle if they let me live!"_

"_That's not true. Once they realise you've changed and that you're really your old self… everything'll go back to the way it was." She pointed out hopefully._

_I shook my head sadly. "Your optimism… your belief that you can make anything happen. Oh, Rose. It's one of the amazing things about you. It's also one of the most infuriating things about you." I told her honestly._

"_I believed that you could come back from being a Strigoi," she pointed out. "Maybe my belief in the impossible isn't so crazy after all."_

_Rose-logic. At a time like this, she was countering my point which Rose-logic. Just like she used to do in training. Except there, I could be exasperated, amused. I could laugh at her, roll my eyes, and just move on. This was different though. This was serious. Life and death. Love and hate. I struggled to get a grip over the nostalgia sweeping through me._

"_I'm grateful for what you did," I said formally, both of us working to stay civil, in control. I remembered the day that Rose had figured out that I had struggled for self-control as much as she did. No-one else had ever guessed that. "I do owe you. And it's a debt I can't pay. Like I said, the best thing I can do is stay out of your life."_

"_If you're part of Lissa's, then you can't avoid me."_

"_People can exist around each other without… without there being any more than that," I told her firmly. And then, Rose finally snapped. She rammed against the bars of the cell, so rapidly that even Guardian Tanner seemed surprised._

"_But I love you!" she hissed. "And I know you love me too. Do you really think you can spend the rest of your life ignoring that when you're around me?" I remained silent. _

"_You love me," she repeated. "I know you do." She reached her hand through the bars, extending it as far as it would go. My fingers twitched, wanting to reach out to her, but I stopped myself. There was something I needed to say._

"_Isn't it true," I said quietly, my heart beating a hundred miles an hour, "that you're involved with Adrian Ivashkov?" Rose's arm dropped back to her side._

"_Wh– where did you hear that?"_

"_Things get around," I answered, my heart breaking._

"_They certainly do," she muttered._

"_So are you?" I asked adamantly. She hesitated for a minute._

"_Yes, but–" and just like that, my heart broke. I had to keep it off my face though._

"_Good." I forced out through my closed windpipe. I leaned back against the wall, trying to look relieved. It must have worked, because Rose's face fell._

"_Adrian's a better person than he gets credit for. He'll be good to you." _

"_But–"_

"_That's where your future is, Rose." I told her wearily. "You don't understand what it's like coming through what I did – coming back from being a Strigoi. It's changed everything. It's not just that what I did to you was unforgivable. All my feelings… my emotions for you… they changed. I don't feel the way I used to. I might be a Dhampir again, but after what I went through… well, it scarred me. It altered my soul. I can't love anyone now. I can't –_I don't_– love you. There's nothing more between you and me." The glint of hope that had been in Rose's eyes faded. She looked heartbroken._

"_No! That's not true! I love you and you–" she began. I decided to take the plunge._

"_I've given up on you." I said softly. "Love fades, mine has." She stared up at me in disbelief. I'd never phrased it like that before. I had always said I couldn't love her because of the things I had done to her, because being a Strigoi had changed me. I had never just come out and told her that I didn't love her anymore, that there was never a chance of me loving her again.. Tears began to pool in Rose's eyes. She stepped back from the bars, and sprinted out, leaving silence behind her. There was no going back after saying that. I had just ripped her heart to shreds, and I didn't know whether it could be fixed._

I didn't see Rose again after that. I heard the guardians talking though. Apparently, she hadn't been sleeping or eating, and when she showed up for guardian meetings –the only thing she came out of her room for – she just sat by herself, not talking or suggesting anything. I felt absolutely horrible. I had once promised Rose I would never hurt her, and what had I done so many times in the last few months? Hurt her repeatedly. And, time and time again, she still came running back, saying she loved me. Every time. Maybe 'love fades, mine has' had been harsh, but that's what she needed. She had to understand.

In other news, I had been released from my cell, and only travelled with two guardians. I was currently waiting on one of them to come back from checking whether I could go to church or not. Ten more minutes and I had my answer.

"Boss says he don't see why not, 'long as yous quiet and don't make no fuss." He told me in his heavy accent. I nodded. We set out across the Court's beautiful grounds, but I wasn't really taking any of it in.

When we entered the church, I immediately set off for the back corner, ignoring the stares boring into me. My two guardians followed, sitting on the end of the row. I looked around me, taking in the congregation. About a minute before service was meant to start, someone entered through the side door wearing sweats and a t-shirt that was far too big for them. Their dark hair was pulled back into a brutal ponytail. I knew immediately who it was, but I didn't let myself believe it. Rose began walking down this way, towards the back, with her head down. She looked to have lost a lot of weight, her curves non-existent, her face sallow. She sat in the seat two rows in front of me, not noticing my presence. Rose knelt down, her head buried in her hands, and did something I have never seen her do: she prayed.

When service started, she sat up, looking around her quickly. When she moved her head to the side, I noticed the tears rolling down her face. This just made me feel worse. She was completely heart-broken.

I spent the whole service watching her, not paying attention to the priest at all. When it was over – and everyone left – she stayed behind, mumbling quietly to herself. I stayed too, praying for forgiveness, acceptance, the ability to love. After about fifteen minutes, Rose stood, moving to leave through the back door – also meaning walking past me. She gasped loudly when she saw me, backing up a few steps, like a rabbit caught in the headlights. I noticed that she wasn't wearing any make-up, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Typical enough after a break up –of sorts. There was a hollowness in Rose's eyes though, in her actions, that made me think that this was more than just a break up– for her, at least. This was watching her life, her heart, her _future_, get torn to pieces right before her eyes. By a man she thought would love and protect her forever. That was what really broke my heart.

Rose suddenly wrapped her arms around herself, as if holding herself together. She cast me one last agonized look before continuing to walk away. I couldn't leave her like this.

"Rose! Wait!" I yelled, running out after her. I bust through the heavy doors, scanning the courtyard for her. Nowhere to be seen. I jogged down the steps, flanked by my guardians. I was about to start looking for her when something gold caught my eye. I bent over and picked up the small gold locket. I recognized it instantly. I had given it to Rose just before I had become a Strigoi. There was a rose on the front and 'мою роза –my roza– engraved on the back. Inside it held a picture of the two of us at the Academy – or so I thought. When I opened it, a small piece of paper fell out.

It read:

_Guardian Belikov,_

_Don't feel responsible for my actions._

_Yours,_

_Guardian Hathaway_

Ouch. The 'Guardian' titles stung. We weren't on first name basis anymore. I suppose that was my fault. Tears began to pool it my eyes.

"Take me back." I choked. The guardians didn't move. _"Take me back!" _

We made it back to my cell it record time, thanks to the fact that I had run the entire way, leaving the guardians struggling to catch-up. My anger had only made me faster. They locked me back in my room, and I sat on the floor, wallowing in the disgust I felt toward myself. I couldn't get over how unhealthy, how broken Rose had looked. And I had made her that way. I was a sorry excuse for a man, breaking the woman I loved to pieces.

After a few hours of uneasy sleep, I woke up to the guardians shouting and running about in frenzy. I put my ear up against the thin door of my small flat, trying to hear what the commotion was about. I only heard parts of the sentence, but it was enough to make my heart stop beating.

"Guardian Hathaway… Suicide… Back-up… Urgent." I lost it, pounding on the walls, breaking furniture, throwing chairs and cabinets round me like they weighed nothing. I let out a feral snarl. I had driven Rose to committing suicide. My anger slowly subsided, and suddenly, I was leaning against the door, sobbing. I could just faintly hear a message come through to the guardians outside.

"Too late." It buzzed. I began choking. Rose, beautiful, amazing, strong, sarcastic Rose, the girl who had captured my heart with the first words out of her mouth – _'Leave her alone'_ – was dead. Gone. Because of me. I needed to get out of here. I couldn't stand it any more.

I didn't bother trying the doorknob, I knew it was locked, and rattling it would mean losing the element of surprise. I took two steps back, balancing on the balls of my feet. Quick as lightening, my foot shot out, snapping the door in two. I rammed through it, coming face-to-face with my surprised guardians. Without hesitation, I shot out with my fist, hitting one square in the nose. Before he could react, I sent my foot flying toward his gut. He slammed up against the wall, unconscious. The other guy was staring at me with fearful eyes. I took him in a chokehold, waiting for his eyes to close. I laid him down beside his partner and left without a second glance, not even bothering to feel guilty over the fact that I had just assaulted two guardians.

I stormed out of the building, keeping my head down as I ran full-tilt for the garages. Once there, I began hot-wiring a red Porsche, flashy, but insanely fast. The engine roared, and I hopped inside, flinging on some Rayban aviators I found on the dashboard. The more covered up I was, the better. I pulled out slowly, holding my breath as I approached the gates.

"Leaving already, Lord Ivashkov?" The guard in asked. A relative of Adrian's. Lovely.

"Yeah." I said, trying not to let my Russian accent come through in my words.

"He nodded. "Have a nice day." He gave me a small wave before opening the gate. Good security they have here. I suddenly thought of Rose.

_"I was testing dorm security. It sucks."  
>"You must be freezing. Do you want my coat?"<br>"I'm fine. What are you doing out here? Are you testing security too?"  
>"I am security. This is my watch."<br>"Well, good work. I'm glad I was able to help test your awesome skills."_

I chuckled bitterly to myself as I sped away from Court, with no idea as to where I would end up.

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><p><strong>Can you guys say 'review'? :D Just because you love me so much...? Okay then.. maybe not...<strong>


	2. Choice

**Hey guys!**

**Thank you _so much_ for the _amazing_ reviews! They make my life... Not even joking!**

**For those of you asking, whether Rose commits suicide or not shall be revealed in this chapter. :)**

**Massive thanks (again) to: MiniRoseHathawayXOXO, Immortal Bitch, princess-in-training122, , Vampire Academy Lover 13, ammeg10, VampireFreakLover98, roseskyangel and Twilighternproud :D**

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><p>RPOV – CHAPTER 2 – CHOICE<p>

I woke to a loud persistent banging on my door. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I padded stiffly into the hall, peering through the peephole. Guardians. About five of them. I pulled the door back slowly, watching their faces turn from worried to _very_ worried. I knew I didn't look well: haggard and skinny, my curves non-existent. My face was pale and drawn, dark circles framing my dull brown eyes. I used to be a nine round here on most days, ten on a good one. Now, I was practically in negative numbers. The clothes I wore hung off me, and they weren't even mine to begin with. The pyjama shorts were, but the hoodie was Dimitri's – it still smelled faintly of his aftershave. I pulled it closer to me as I waited for the guardians to speak.

"Guardian Hathaway…" Guardian Croft said slowly, looking me up and down.

"It's Rose." I replied hoarsely.

"_Rose_. We need you. _Now_. Lord Ozera's worried about the Princess Vasilisa. She's cutting herself again. Worse than ever." Just like that, I was alert for the first time in a week. "You need to be down there with us."

"You go ahead; I'll meet you in five." I shut the door, running around the room looking for clothes. I slipped on my black slacks, stretchy white shirt and black jacket in seconds. After a quick check in the mirror, I was gone, sprinting towards Lissa.

I found her in the luxurious bathroom in her suite, surrounded by guardians. She was lying with her cheek pressed against the floor, the blood dripping from her wrists onto the pristine white tiles. I collapsed beside her, flipping her hand over. Tears filled my eyes at the sight. These cuts… these cuts were different from the others. Deeper than I'd ever seen… deep enough to kill her.

"She is… alive… Isn't she?" I whispered, frantically probing her neck for a pulse. Nothing. I panicked.

"Why are you all just _standing_ there? Lissa is _dying_! _The last Dragomir is dying right in front of you_, and you aren't doing _anything_! _Get her to the infirmary_!" I screamed, eyes wheeling. Someone grabbed my arm.

"Rose! Step back… Let the guardians do their job." Christian said powerfully from behind me. I watched from under his arm as the guardians lifted Lissa gently, and rushed her to get treatment.

"Christian…" I turned, staring into his hard, icy eyes. "Christian. She didn't have a pulse." That last tiny glimmer of hope in Christian's eyes blacked out abruptly.

"_What_?"

"Lissa. She didn't…" I began to sob quietly. "She didn't have a pulse…"

"No…" he whispered, towing me out by the hand. We ran to the infirmary, and ended up in the ICU. Lissa was on life support, and she had lost a lot of blood. That machine was the only thing keeping her alive. Minutes passed, and finally the guardians emerged. To my surprise, they didn't stop with Christian and me, they continued running past, back outside.

"Hans…" I called. "_Hans_!" he turned, shooting me an annoyed look.

"What _now_, Hathaway?" he sighed, edging toward the door.

"Guardian Croft, I would ask you to get your ass back here. I'm _trying_ to ask you a question." He raised an eyebrow expectantly. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's Belikov…" My heart stopped beating. "He's… He's broken out. Escaped. Took down his guardians."

"He… Killed them?" I asked in disbelief.

"No, just roughed them up pretty bad." he sighed. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Wait! I'm coming with you." I stood shakily, beginning to follow him. A strong hand caught my arm.

"Rose! What are you _doing_? Lissa – your _best_ friend, who would do _anything_ for you - is in there, _dying_. _Dead_, maybe. And you're gonna leave her to go save some guy who doesn't even _love_ you any more?" Christian choked. I winced. A slap would've hurt less.

"Christian… _you_ know I love Lissa like my sister, and _I_ know that she would do anything for me. But it works both ways. I've already done _everything_ for her. All my life, it's been _'they come first'._ I have lived my life for her, trained to be her shadow, and now, _just this once_, I'm going to do something for me. I need this. I'm so, so sorry, but I can't lose Dimitri again." I whispered, my voice breaking several times. Without another look at Christian, I turned to face Hans slowly. He nodded before leading me out of the infirmary without a word.

I followed him obediently, and to my surprise; we ended up in one of –if not the– roughest area in the whole of court. We entered one of the identical, rundown, redbrick buildings with old, stained carpet and peeling walls. This was the part of court that visitors – and most residents – would never be allowed to see. It wasn't that much better than Dimitri's cell: at least that had been clean. I felt like crying as we slowly ascended to the eighth floor in the old, rickety elevator. No one should have to live in such squalid conditions, let alone strong, sweet, kind Dimitri, who had such a fierce need to protect those he loved.

We edged down the hallway, both of us stopping short in Dimitri's open doorway. The tiny room had been turned upside down: chairs, tables and cabinets were lying in disarray on the floor; the bed had been reduced to a twisted pile of wood, metal and stuffing; every plate, glass and piece of cutlery had been shattered against the wall and any other piece of furniture had been damaged beyond repair.

We set to work, scouring the rubble for clues as to where Dimitri was headed in that efficient way of ours. After hours of fruitless searching, we struck gold. Literally.

"Anyone know what this is?" Guardian Maltov asked, holding up gold necklace. A locket, to be more precise. I backed up slowly, tears rolling down my face. He found it. Dimitri found my locket.

"Guardian Hathaway?" Maltov asked in concern.

"That locket… It's- It's mine." I choked. He looked at me sceptically. "Look inside if you don't believe me." He opened it without a word, taking in the carefree picture of us at the Academy – when our biggest worry had been getting found out. I held out a shaky hand, pleading with my eyes. With a sigh, he dropped it into my palm, watching me carefully. I took in the picture, our clear eyes and easy smiles. More tears flooded down my cheeks. Carefully –and so as not to attract attention– I flicked the inside part over, which should have revealed another photo. Instead, there was a tiny piece of paper inside. My piece of paper. I lifted it out carefully, hiding it in my palm. Just because Dimitri hadn't found it didn't mean the guardians needed to. Closing the locket with unnecessary care, I looked back to guardian Maltov.

"There's nothing in it. Could I maybe-"

"Keep it? No chance! It's evidence." He snapped.

"Maltov, can it. This is hard on her. She's lost her best friend and the love of her life all in a day." Hans sighed wearily. I stared at him, shocked. He knew. He knew about Dimitri and he didn't care. I would always love him for that, no matter how much filing he made me do.

Maltov didn't move, holding my necklace tighter, if anything.

"_Hugo_. Give Rose the locket." he growled. Maltov complied reluctantly, tossing it back to me. I smiled tentatively at Hans, who nodded.

"We have to talk to his guardians. There's nothing here." Someone called from the doorway.

"Rose, with me. The rest of you, back to your shifts." Hans ordered. I followed him out immediately, glad to be leaving.

Tense silence hung over us as we walked to the guardian building.

"Hans…" I began awkwardly. "Thank you… so much... for standing up for me…"

"I know what it's like to be in love Rose." He replied gruffly. "…And I know what it's like to have it taken away from you."

"Oh." I choked out, and with that, we lapsed back into silence.

Hans must have called in advance about the guardians, because when we reached the tiny interrogation room, they were ready and waiting for us. Without any way of greeting, Hans launched into his mental list of questions.

"What time did Dimitri break out?"

"Did he say anything?"

"Was there anyone else in the building?"

"Did he have any weapons?"

"Did you hear him trashing his room?"

"Was there anyone with him?"

All the questions led to the same thing: nothing. Hans growled in frustration, ripping up the sheet in front of him.

"Right, we're done here. I got nothing." He sighed, standing up. I caught his arm in desperation.

"Wait! I have… I have an idea." Dimitri was too controlled to just fly off the rails for no reason. There had to have been a cause, a spark. Something that made him snap.

"Did _you_ say anything to _him_?" I asked. Both guardians shook their heads. "And he–"

"Rose, it's a lost cause. I'm sorry, but he's gone."

"Wait! Did you… Did you say anything _before_ he came out? Something he might have overheard?" I asked excitedly. The two men looked at each other for a second.

"Sure did!" One said with a heavy Texas accent. Guardian Daly, I thought his name was. "We wuz lookin' fer you, young laydee!"

"Looking… for me…?"

"Yes, the call had just come through regarding the Princess. They sent out a message to every guardian to pass on to you, because you weren't on duty." The other guardian explained. I didn't know him.

"Tell me _exactly_ what you said." I felt like I was on to something.

"Uh… The guardian on the line said, 'Get a search going. We need Guardian Hathaway; Princess Vasilisa has tried to commit suicide. Back-up is needed also. It's urgent. Over.' And then I confirmed the message."

"What did he say after that?" I asked, my heart sinking. I knew where this was headed.

"I radioed about for a bit, trying to find you, and then I got one more message from him…" I stared at him expectantly. "Too late."

My heart broke. Dimitri had trashed his room, took out two guardians, and fled court, all for Lissa. For one tiny moment, I thought he had finally figured out how much he was hurting me. Guess not.

I stood abruptly. "That's it. Right there. He did all that…" I swallowed, hard. "He did it all because he thought Lissa was dead." I choked, slamming the door as I left.

I stormed across Court, not stopping to speak to anyone. Making sure the door was locked, I pulled all the blinds down and switched off the light. And then the tears began. Soon, the tears turned to sobs, the sobs turned to choking, the choking turned to screaming, and the screaming turned to lying on the floor, cried out and broken. I felt like I was going crazy.

Standing on shaky legs, I checked the clock as I passed. 10pm. Fully-clothed, I collapsed onto my bed, falling into an uneasy, dreamless sleep.

Just like yesterday, I was awakened by the guardians trying to break my door down.

"Rose? _Rose?_ You in there?"

"Coming!" I yelled hoarsely. I padded to the door, not bothering to see who it was. I already knew. Or, well… I thought I knew.

"…Adrian?" I whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Rose. What happened you?" he asked sadly, taking me in his arms and pulling me to the bed. I began sobbing quietly. Where to start?

"D-Dimitri doesn't l-love me any m-more… and now he's r-run away from Court because of L-Lissa…"

"I find that hard to believe Rose." He crooned. "You are that guy's _world_. No exaggeration."

"He t-told me… He said, 'I've g-given up on you. L-Love fades…'"

"Love fades?" Adrian gasped.

"Love fades, m-mine has…" I choked, sobbing harder.

"No… Oh, Rose, honey, I'm so sorry."

"And then there's Lissa." I wailed.

"What about Lissa?" he asked with a frown. My hand flew to my mouth.

"You don't know?"

"Um… No."

"L-Lissa…" I took a deep breath. "She cut herself again."

"Well, that can be fixed." He said with a crack of his knuckles.

"N-No, Adrian. You don't _understand_. T-This t-time, she wasn't just cutting h-herself. She was trying to… trying to…"

"Rose…" Adrian asked, voice dangerously low. "Was Lissa trying to kill herself?" I nodded wordlessly.

"She's at the infirmary… on… on life-support…" I sniffed loudly.

"Come on." He growled, throwing me a coat. I pulled it on, and let him drag me to see Lissa.

We burst through the doors, effectively making everyone in the room look at us. Adrian didn't seem to see, and stormed up to the reception desk.

"We're here to see Princess Vasilisa Dragomir."

"And who would you be?" the moroi receptionist drawled.

"Adrian and Rose." He said without thinking. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry-"

"Lord _Adrian_ Ivashkov and Guardian _Rose_ Hathaway." He added. She blinked behind her heavy glasses.

"Down the hallway, third door on the right. Lord Ozera's already there. Have a nice day, Lord Ivashkov." She smiled.

"I'm sure I will." He muttered, dragging me down the hallway. I was really dreading running into Christian again.

Adrian opened the door slowly, and we both gasped at the sight of Lissa, as pale as any Strigoi, with several different tubes and needles stuck in her, including a drip. Her golden hair was matted with blood, and her wrists were heavily bandaged. Christian was sitting beside the bed, whispering quietly to himself. He looked to have aged ten years in the past day. His hard blue eyes flickered up suddenly, taking us in a heartbeat.

"Nice to see _you_ back." he sneered. Adrian held up his hands.

"Now now, no need to be harsh."

"No, he's right… I deserved that." I whispered, breaking down into tears once more. Adrian wrapped a protective arm around my shoulder and guided me to the chair beside Christian, who now looked pretty damn guilty.

"I'm… sorry, Rose. I'm just stressed out." He murmured, squeezing Lissa's hand.

"In case you haven't noticed: _so is she_." Adrian shot back.

"Adrian." I soothed, touching his arm.

"Sorry." He muttered, not meeting Christian's – or my – eyes. Suddenly his face lit up. "I just wanna try something…"

He reached out to Lissa, taking the hand that Christian was holding.

"Here goes nothing." He said through gritted teeth, closing his eyes. I watched in stunned silence as his brow furrowed and his lips pressed into a tight line. On a whim, I grabbed Christian's hand, holding it like a lifeline. Then, I did something I had never done before this whole mess: I prayed. I prayed that Adrian could heal Lissa, that she would be okay, that Dimitri was alright – wherever he was, and that we could sort this whole mess out.

I watched in horror as the emerald eyes opened, the tense brow smoothed, and the lips slid into a frown. Adrian sighed roughly in frustration.

"It won't work. _Why won't it work_?" he growled. Christian shot me a look.

"Adrian, buddy, calm down. You tried your best."

"Calm down. _Calm down_? What about Lissa? You don't seem as worried about her as you try to make out, Ozera!"

"This is a battle that Lissa has to fight by herself. She's strong, she can do it." He replied calmly.

"Yeah, she's _so_ strong, and that's why she's lying here in _hospital_!"

"_Darkness_." I mouthed to Christian, who nodded. "Adrian?"

"What?" he snarled.

"I think we'd better go. You need to calm down. This isn't you."

"What?" his voice suddenly dropped to a whisper on hearing those words.

"_This isn't you,_ Adrian."

"This isn't me…" he sighed, standing up. " I think we should leave." I nodded slightly, squeezing Christian's hand before standing slowly.

"Bye Christian… Liss." I murmured. Christian smiled half-heartedly.

"Bye guys."

I had to lengthen my stride to keep up with Adrian's as we walked back in the direction of my building. He still seemed angry about something – as in, something other than the fact that his 'cousin' had tried to commit suicide because she was stressed for her best friend, who had just been cruelly dumped by a man that had previously said – many times, in fact – he would never hurt her. And just to add icing to that very depressing cake, he also happened to be hopelessly in love with the poor girl who had just had her heart ripped into a million pieces, and had to stand by as her friend, even knowing that she would never return his feelings. So yeah, along with that, he had still found something to be pissed about. I almost felt like applauding him.

It began snowing lightly as we walked, and I mentally thanked Adrian for making me bring a jacket. I clutched it closer as I cleared my throat.

"So…"

"So…?"

"How're you holding up now?"

"Better. I'm sorry I reacted like that Rose, it was really stupid of me."

"Adrian, it was the darkness. You couldn't help it." I soothed.

"But I _could_ help it Rose! I could've fought it! I should've fought it…"

"Listen, Adrian. I have to deal with darkness too; I know what it's like. You're not really in any condition for fighting anyway."

"_I'm_ not? Rose, have you _seen_ yourself lately? Not only have you lost your physical strength," he eyed my skinny body, "but your mental strength too."

"Adrian, it's hard-"

"I _know_ its hard Rose. But you need to fight back. Don't let Dimitri ruin you."

"I'm not letting _Dimitri_ ruin me. I'm letting _me_ ruin me."

"Fight back against yourself then! You know your own strengths and weaknesses. Do something about it! We're all worried about you Rose. You need to get back to normal."

"I am doing something about it Adrian." I snapped. Was he trying to imply that I was sitting on my ass, doing nothing?

"Good." He said, finality ringing in his tone. He pushed my front door open, letting me inside first. I shrugged out of my coat and wandered into the kitchen, looking for food.

"When was the last time you ate anything?" Adrian asked from behind me, making me bang my head off the cupboard I was raiding. I straightened up, rubbing the sore spot on my head and opening a granola bar with my teeth.

"Um… I haven't had anything today or yesterday except coffee, and before that, it was just whatever I could find in the cupboard."

"How often were you 'eating whatever you could find in the cupboard'?"

"Um… Well, I wasn't hungry… I just sort of ate once a day because I knew I had to." I confessed sheepishly, munching on the bar and going to look for coffee.

"Oh Rose…"

"You want some?" I asked, gesturing to the kettle. Adrian shook his head.

"I need to go. Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine." I assured him, mentally making a grocery list.

"See you."

"Yeah, you too." I called, waving.

The second I heard the door close, I ran to my room, throwing on a pair of sweats and a tank top. Sneakers and a jacket went on next. Time to get some of my muscle back. After checking the door was locked, I headed in the direction of the guardian's gym, tying my hair up as I walked. Adrian was right. I shouldn't be moping over Dimitri; I should be trying to get my life back. It would benefit everyone.

My thoughts were scattered when my phone started ringing. Groping my pockets, I eventually found it, and smiled inwardly when I saw the caller ID. Mom. I hit the send button before she could hang up.

"Hi mom." I said cheerfully. She saw right through it.

"Rose, what's going on at Court? They're calling in backup, but they won't tell us anything."

"Dimitri doesn't love me anymore."

"Rose, that's not what I– wait… What?"

"Dimitri doesn't love me any more." I repeated. "And then I got depressed, and Lissa got depressed because I got depressed, and then she cut herself again-" I told her in a rush, tears running down my face.

"Is she alright?"

"No! She… she had no pulse when I found her, and now she's on… she's on life support."

"Oh Rose, honey, I'm so, _so_ sorry. I'll be over to see you when I arrive, okay?"

"Yeah." I agreed absentmindedly, watching the delicate snowflakes fall past my face.

"Is that all that's happened?"

"He– Dimitri ran away."

"_What_?"

"That's probably what they need you for. Where are you guys now?"

"The airport."

"Departures or arrivals?"

"Arrivals." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"'K, see you later."

"Bye, I love you honey."

"Love you-" the line went dead.

I slipped the cell back into my pocket, pushing through the heavy doors of the gym. I draped my jacket over the radiator, shaking my hair out as I crossed to a running machine. It was really snowing now, enough to make you want to stay indoors. I chose my favourite treadmill: the one in front of the TV. I flicked the on switch and fiddled with the dial until I was jogging briskly. A voice sounded suddenly behind me, almost making me lose my balance.

"Rose?" my head whipped round to the low, gentle timbre.

"Oh, hey Mikhail. You scared me."

"Sorry." He murmured. "Look, is everything alright? You look… unwell…" I sighed as I watched his quick eyes take in my skinny arms, sallow skin and dull eyes.

"Yeah… Things have been… Difficult. I suppose you heard about Lissa?"

"Yes, I was there when we found her. Don't you remember?" he asked, sounding concerned now. I tore my memory apart, thinking back to _that day_. I had no recollection of Mikhail being there.

"Yeah, sure I remember." I plastered on a smile. Mikhail frowned.

"So, any news on Belikov?"

"None so far." I said quietly, affecting the guardian face I had pretty much mastered.

"Apparently they're sending out a search for him."

"What? _Why_?"

"'_He's dangerous to Moroi and Dhampirs alike_.'" He quoted. "Their words, not mine." Mikhail didn't seem happy with this dub at all… And neither was I.

"There's a guardian meeting tomorrow morning, if you want to attend. We're discussing who's going to look for him."

…Going to look for him. _I could do that_, I thought to myself.

"Mikhail!" A deep voice called. We both turned – I was almost turned 180 degrees now. Ever try running backwards?

"Hey Dave." Mikhail replied, slapping his friend on the back. "I'll leave you to it. See you tomorrow, Rose." He said, eyebrow arched. He knew me too well.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow… _mind reader_…" I grumbled in response. He laughed lightly before leaving me to my running.

After another twenty minutes or so, I dismounted the running machine and moved on to weights. It had been so long since I had done a strength workout. _Too_ long. It was really taking its toll on me now. _If you're going after Dimitri, you need to be ready; _I chastised myself as my upper arm muscles burned. Working through the pain, I began chanting in time to my movements: up, down, up down, biceps, triceps, biceps, triceps. It lulled me, calming my frayed nerves. That's maybe why I didn't notice _another_ person creeping up behind me. I never knew I was so popular.

"Rose, what happened you?" The infamous Janine Hathaway cried, tearing the weight from my hand and smothering me in a hug. I felt the look of fierce concentration slide from my face.

"Hi mom." I replied, somewhat insufficiently.

"When did you get so skinny? And pale? And _tired_?"

"Since the man I love abandoned me and my best friend tried to commit suicide." I replied, deadpan. I was so glad I had told mom about Dimitri. I needed to share this with someone besides Adrian.

"Sorry, that was really insensitive…" she murmured.

"It's okay." I shrugged. She looked around her suddenly, as if she was only noticing now that we were standing in the middle of the gym.

"Can we go somewhere more… private?"

"Sure."

I tugged my coat on, and we headed outside to a full-on blizzard. I could barely see a foot in front of me. Mom grabbed my hand suddenly, and I made out the faint flash of a grin through the white haze.

"I don't want to lose you." She called. I caught the double-meaning the minute the words left her mouth. Nodding slowly, we continued to trek through the snow.

I didn't realise we were at my small apartment until we almost ran into it. Coming face-to-face with the heavy front door, I pulled it back slowly and stepped into warmth. Mom followed close behind me, frowning slightly. I didn't bother asking why, seeing as that was her default facial expression.

We ascended awkwardly in the elevator, both of us sighing in relief when we hit my floor. With me leading the way, we continued down the hallway, stopping outside a dark green door with the number '213' on it. I jammed the key into the lock, rattling it until the door swung open… to reveal my less than tidy apartment.

"Rose, when was the last time you cleaned this place?"

"Since before my life decided it hated me." I replied, going to make the bed. Mom followed my lead, pulling back the curtains and opening the windows. I picked my guardian outfit up off the floor and went to hang it neatly in the closet. Something white against the plain black of my slacks caught my eye. A piece of paper sticking up out off the pocket. My piece of paper. I unfolded it gently, expecting to see the starting words, 'Guardian Belikov,' in my untidy scrawl, but no, instead I saw a different letter in a small, neat cursive. Dimitri's small, neat cursive.

_I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Roza._

_That was the biggest mistake I could've made._

And that was it. I felt tears pool in my eyes – for the hundredth time this week – as I read the note again, and again, and again.

Did Dimitri still love me?

* * *

><p><strong>Ooooh... Does Dimitri still love Rose? We shall see! Sorry about the cliffhanger :P<strong>

**So, in other news, I have 9 reviews at this very moment... Can we try double that? Even if you hated the chapter... review anyway!**

**Make a little (I'm _not_ little -.-) girl happy! :D**


	3. Escape

**Hi guys :D**

**Sorry for the slow update... Hectic week and the best case of writers block EVER! Annoying .**

**By the way, just to clarify, I have changed my penname from _AnnieTheAlchemist_ to _AnnieRoseHathaway_ (believe it or not, Rose is my middle name - Thank you mother!)**

**So, anyway, here it is: Chapter 3 - Escape!**

**It's not particularly long, but it's kind of a necessary chapter. Believe me, you will feel so sorry for Dimitri by the end :'(**

**Also, massive thanks to: kyoko minoion, VampireFreakLover98, Vampire Academy Lover 13, olivia williams, MiniRoseHathawayXOXO, DimitriBelikovLover96 and Rosmarie Hathaway who reviewed the last chapter, and a special thank you to kittenxxkisses because your review made me grin like the complete idiot that I am :D**

**Enjoy!**

**Annie x**

* * *

><p>DPOV – CHAPTER 3 – ESCAPE<p>

'_Don't feel responsible for my actions.'_

In other words: don't blame yourself because I committed suicide.

I let out a scream of disgust and slammed my fist into the steering wheel of my newest getaway car: a silver Honda Civic. Small, moderately fast and incredibly common: it was exactly what I needed - especially after driving a flashy red Porsche half way across the state.

My anger kept me at least twenty over the speed-limit for the whole journey, and I arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport sooner than I thought. I left the car in an abandoned parking lot about 5 kilometres away and set off jogging. I tried to concentrate only on the road, counting the dashed white lines running up the centre to keep my mind off Rose. She seemed to be all I thought about now.

Just under twenty minutes later, I was strolling casually through the airport parking lot, trying not to look like a runaway who didn't know what he was doing. I got a few stares as I crossed into departures, scanning for the check-in desk I was after. It might have been because of my height, or maybe my lack of baggage. I guess I'll never know.

I was about to give up when I spotted it: a small commercial flight to Omsk, Russia. Fortunately the queue was practically non-existent, so I stepped in behind an elderly couple chatting quietly. The woman turned, smiling warmly. I returned it quickly, caught off guard.

"Business or pleasure trip, dear?"

"Uh… Pleasure." I replied, scanning my surroundings reflexively.

"Off to visit your girlfriend?" she asked, eying the air beside me as though a woman would appear there. Her casual question tore at my heart_. No, I don't have a girlfriend anymore_, I thought._ She committed suicide because I treated her with nothing but cruelty and disrespect._

"No, I'm going to stay with my family for a while." I answered, pain searing in my voice.

"Oh. Are you Russian?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes, I grew up there, but I live in America now."

She turned slightly to her husband, who had stepped up to the desk to check them in. "Well, Mr…"

"Belikov. Dimitri Belikov." I responded, holding out my hand. She shook it gently, shooting me another smile.

"Well, Mr Belikov, it's been a pleasure to meet you. Have a safe trip." She called, following her husband out of the queue. With a small smile, I stepped up to the desk, wallet in hand.

"One ticket to Omsk, please."

Three hours, a lot of waiting, and several cups of coffee later, I was in the air – sandwiched between two giggly middle-aged women who wouldn't stop talking.

I almost tackled the air hostess when she walked by with headsets.

Sinking back into the seat, I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me.

It didn't.

It was now that I yearned for a western novel to keep my mind off everything that had happened. Life in the Wild West seemed so simple. There, Rose and I could have been together without any implications. I could've taken her in my arms and carried her off into the sunset. But no, this was the real world, with real people and real problems. The Wild West was wishful thinking.

After another hour or so my eyes slid shut of their own accord, and I fell into an uneasy sleep.

I awoke later to someone poking me.

"Hey. Hey you. Tall guy. Wake up." A voice called. I rubbed my eyes before opening them groggily, focusing on the woman beside me.

"Yes?" I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"I just thought I'd wake you up. We're going to be landing in…" she frowned.

"Omsk." I supplied through a yawn.

"Yeah, we're landing there soon." She looked away.

"When you feel like telling me the _real_ reason, I'm all ears."

Her eyes flicked up, like she couldn't believe I had noticed her lies. "You looked like you were having a bad dream… _really_ bad. _That's_ why I woke you. But we're landing soon anyway." She added quickly.

"Well, thanks." I said quietly, staring at my hands.

She seemed to realise that I was done talking, and with a small nod, she turned back to the magazine she was reading. I leaned forward, riffling through the seat pocket for something to read. I ended up with the airline holiday brochure. I flicked through it absent-mindedly, only to discover that everything in it reminded me of my Roza. Every face was hers, every word, I read in her voice. It was overwhelming. Even tiny things, like a winter clothing photo shoot on the middle pages. The snow-

"_What, are you doing? Aside from getting your sandwich cold."  
>"I'm making a snow angel. Don't you know what that is?"<br>"Yes, I know. But why? You must be freezing."  
>"Not so much, actually. My face is a little, I guess."<br>"You'll be cold when you're in the car and all that snow starts melting."  
>"I think you're more worried about the car than about me."<br>"I'm more worried about you getting hypothermia."  
>"In this? This is nothing. Come on. You make one too, and then we can go."<br>"So I can freeze too?"  
>"So you can have fun. So you can leave your mark on Idaho. Besides, it shouldn't bother you at all, right? Don't you have some sort of super cold resistance from Siberia?"<br>"There you go again, convinced Siberia is like Antarctica. I'm from the southern part. The weather's almost the same as here."_

_I lay down in the snow beside her with a weary sigh.  
>"Okay. Now you have to move your arms and legs."<br>"I know how to make a snow angel."_

"_Then do it! Otherwise, you're more like a chalk outline at a police crime scene."_

_End flashback._

I closed the magazine without another word, slipping it carefully back into the seat pocket. The pilot's voice came over the speaker just as I sat back. Apparently we would be landing in Omsk in under ten minutes.

I let my head fall back until it hit the seat. What I had to do know was not going to be easy. My family still thought of me as something evil, something that could not be saved. How would they react to me now, as a Dhampir? I let my eyes slide closed. I wouldn't think about that until I needed to.

As the plane hit the ground with a jolt, I almost felt happy. I was going home. Back to my family, who cared about me. Back to the only people I loved in the world besides Rose.

Back to the people who thought I was a Strigoi.

I sighed. Best not to dwell on that one.

My hand inched toward my phone as I strode across the runway. Maybe I should call ahead?

I decided to skip that particular phone call, and dropped my hand back to my side.

It wasn't long before I was out of the airport again – due to my lack of baggage. Like I did in Pittsburgh, I jogged about 10km away before picking up another car – a blue Honda City.

It wasn't a long drive to Baia – about two hours – but, like before, I made it to the one road into town in half the time. Thankfully it was the middle of the day, so I didn't have to be cautious of Strigoi lurking at the sides of the pass. I stopped only to ditch the car on the outskirts of town, and finished my journey on foot.

The emotions rushing through me were hard to define as I turned into the familiar drive way. The small house where I had lived until the age of eighteen, right in front of me. I hadn't been here in years. I took a deep breath before taking my final step up to the door. Pressing down on the doorbell anxiously, I looked around me at the familiar neighbourhood. I wished I could freeze this moment so I wouldn't have to go through-

The door opened. Oh dear Lord. I wasn't ready for this in the slightest.

"Dimka?" Karolina asked quietly, hand pressed to her mouth in shock.

"Karolina." I breathed, meeting my sister's eyes. She stared hard at me before breaking into tears.

"Oh, Dimka. It's really you!" she cried, throwing herself into my arms. "But how-?"

"I'll tell you soon. But first, go get everyone together. Don't tell them it's me at the door."

"Okay. But you have to tell us everything, Dimitri. No editing, alright?"

"Fine. Now go." I beckoned.

KAROLINA POV

The second I turned away from my brother, a face-splitting grin washed over my lips – and refused to leave.

"SONYA! VIKTORIA!" I yelled up the stairs.

"What?" I got back – twice over.

"Come downstairs! We have a very special visitor!" I called. A minute later and the two were charging down the stairway, eager to know the identity of our mysterious guest. They barrelled into the kitchen, taking their places at the table.

"Babushka. Paul. прийти сесть." I called as I passed the front room. They both stood slowly, following me out. **(прийти сесть – come sit down)**

Paul ran into the kitchen ahead of me, hopping up on the seat beside Viktoria. Babushka Yeva followed slowly, shooting me a knowing smile. Of course she already knew. I felt insanely happy just looking at her; she had a twinkle in her eyes that I hadn't seen since Paul was born. I discreetly held my finger to my lips as I passed her, gesturing for her not to say anything.

I pulled on mama's arm, dragging her away from the oven and over to the table. She shot me a confused – and kind of annoyed – look.

"We have a special guest." I grinned.

"But then I must make some foo-"

"No. You aren't cooking right now. This is…" I hesitated. "важный." **(важный – Important)**

"Fine, I'll sit. But whatever this is, it better be good. Dinner will be ruined." She sighed.

"Oh, believe me… it's more than good." I assured her, pushing her gently onto her seat. She gestured for me to begin.

"Okay, so, you guys all heard the door earlier, right? It was someone very… _special._"

"Lina, get to the point! Your mother isn't going to wait much longer." Babushka scolded.

"Okay… um… One second." I called, poking my head out the kitchen door. Dimitri was waiting with an amused look on his handsome face.

"Ready?" I whispered.

Yeah… I think so." He replied uneasily, the amusement falling away.

"It'll be okay, don't worry." I took his hand and pulled him into the kitchen.

We were greeted by three shocked gasps, a cackle, and a cry of "Uncle Dimka!" from Paul.

"Dimitri… мой ребенок." Mama whispered, tears silently spilling down her cheeks. **(мой ребенок – my baby)**

"How?" Sonya asked quietly, looking very faint.

Viktoria stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving Dimitri's. Once she stood right in front of him, she lifted her finger and poked him cautiously.

"He's definitely real." She muttered, face set with concentration. Looking deep into his chocolate brown eyes, she grinned.

"And he's not a Strigoi… Oh Dimitri! I've missed you, big brother!" she yelled, barrelling into his arms.

He looked up with tears in his eyes. "I've missed you too, little sister." He smiled softly, mussing her hair. She socked him on the shoulder.

"Don't call me that. I'm not little any more!"

"Whatever you say, Vika." His smile turned into a full blown grin. From the look on Viktoria's face, she couldn't help but return it.

Dimitri's happiness seemed to falter slightly as he looked over her head, to where mama and Sonya were frozen in shock. He took a deep breath before going to stand at the foot of the table. Paul chose this very appropriate moment to jump his favourite uncle.

"Uncle Dimka! We though you were bad!" he yelled, rocketing into Dimitri's leg and squeezing it like a lifeline. I couldn't help but smile.

"No Paul, I'm not bad any more. My- My… friend saved me…" Dimka trailed off quietly.

"Was it Aunty Rose?" Paul asked curiously.

"Yes, it was Roza." He agreed, looking like he had just overcome some big decision that had been plaguing him.

"Dimka, can you please just tell us what happened?" Mama stressed, patting the seat beside her. He nodded, sitting without a word. Paul, Vika and I followed suit, and Dimitri launched into his tale.

"How much do you know?" he asked curiously.

"We know that Roza left the Academy to kill you, but came here first to tell us the news. We had your memorial service, and then she left… quite abruptly actually." I mused. Viktoria turned her eyes to the floor. "That's all we know."

"Well, after that, she found me… and I- I-" Dimitri took a deep breath and looked away. "I kidnapped her and kept her hostage." We all gasped.

"She tried to escape, and staked me in the process. The only problem being that she didn't pierce my heart, so I didn't die. She returned to the Academy for her trial, and I… well, I guess you could say I stalked her. I was waiting for her to leave the wards, waiting to… make her like me."

My mind literally felt like it would spontaneously combust at any given second.

"She persisted though… she tried to find a way to save me. I don't know what she did, but she told me 'she broke her own records this time', and that's saying something for Rose. Anyway, she found a way to change a Strigoi back to their original self, a way to recover their soul. It's simple really – well, the first part is. You have to infuse a silver stake with Spirit – which Lissa did, and then you must pierce the Strigoi through the heart with it. They ran into a big problem though: only a Spirit wielder could do it… So, Rose taught Lissa how to stake a Strigoi-"

"Lissa? You mean, _Vasilisa Dragomir_? She _saved_ you?"

"Yes. Lissa trained how to stake a Strigoi, and then, the next time we… met, they staked me, and I returned to my Dhampir form." He explained, finality ringing in his tone.

"And then what happened?" Sonya asked.

"All I'm going to say is that the guilt was so overwhelming, it nearly killed me. I don't like to talk about the time after I was changed." He sighed. I knew there was something big that he wasn't telling us, but I wasn't going to push it.

"Oh Dimka, you've been through so much." Mama cried, taking him in her arms. "You didn't even have us to support you…" she sobbed.

"He had Roza." Viktoria piped up.

"Yes… I had Roza." He agreed thickly, not looking up from the table.

VIKTORIA POV

Something wasn't right. Dimitri looked almost… reserved as he talked about Rose. I needed to find out what had happened those two.

"Mama, go get dinner ready. I'm hungry." I said, my eyes never leaving my brother's. He raised an eyebrow curiously before nodding.

"Are you hungry, Dimka?"

"Yes mama, I haven't eaten since yesterday."

Without any warning, I pulled Dimitri up from the table, dragging him up the stairs and into my room. I shut the door and turned to face him.

"Spill. Now. I know something's wrong."

Dimitri sighed, deliberating. "You won't tell anyone?"

"You think I would?" I shot back. He shook his head before sucking a breath in through his nose.

"I told Roza that I didn't – _couldn't_ – love her any more."

"You _what_? Dimka, you asshole!" I cried, hitting him with my pillow. He didn't move.

"I know."

"Do you know how much she loves you? _Do you?_" I yelled.

He didn't answer.

"She left her best friend in the_ world_ to find you. She came here, to people she didn't even _know_, and broke the bad news to us. How _hard_ must that have been for her? She almost _missed_ her chance at being a guardian – which I know she wants more than anything – because of you. And you know what? I know what she did to save you. I knew it was her the second I read about it. She broke Prince Victor Dashkov out of prison-"

His head shot up faster than the speed of light. "I-"

I held up a hand. "There's more."

He waited for me to continue.

"She broke Dashkov out of prison, ended up in Las _Vegas_; the Prince, another man, two teenage girls – one with dark hair and one with blonde – and a boy were spotted on the security cameras of the Witching Hour. Ring any bells?"

Dimitri made a strange choking sound.

"So, anyway, she ended up in Vegas, somehow got this Dashkov guy to help her out – I guess he told her how a Strigoi could be saved – then she went back to the Academy and set out looking for you all over again. Do you know what she said at your memorial? She said – and I quote, "he was the best man I've ever met." That night, she told everyone how brave you were, and though she didn't say it, we could see on her face that she loved you more than anything in the world. And what have you done to that, Dimka? You jeopardised the best thing that's ever happened to you. Rose is kind, sweet, caring, beautiful, protective, fierce… she's everything you could ever want… and more." I told him, only realising that my voice had dropped to a whisper.

Dimitri made another strangled sound. He looked up through his hands, his chocolate eyes meeting mine.

"Vika…" he whispered. "I haven't told you the worst part."

"What could be worse than all of that?"

"Roza… She killed herself." He sobbed, collapsing onto the floor with a thud. I rushed to help him up. I wanted nothing more than to scream at him until I lost my voice, but he needed me.

"Oh Dimitri, I'm so sorry." I whispered, pulling him into my arms. He cried into my shirt for at least ten minutes. I had never seen him so… vulnerable.

"I shouldn't have said all those things."

"No, Vika, every word was the truth." He disagreed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I think I'm going to go and get some sleep before dinner." He sighed, standing shakily. He turned to kiss my forehead before opening the door noiselessly.

"Thank you, Viktoria. I needed to get that off my chest."

"No problem, big brother." I heard a faint chuckle before the door closed.

My smile dropped the moment he left.

Poor, poor Dimitri.

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><p><strong>Now, down to business.<strong>

**I want _at least _TEN reviews for this chapter. I wont be updating until I get them :D**

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	4. Disillusion

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><p>RPOV - CHAPTER 4 – PURSUIT<p>

"I have to go after him."

My mother's head snapped up in shock at my drastic change in attitude from five minutes ago.

Then, I had sounded hopeless, depressed. Now, I sounded fierce and resolute.

_Rose Hathaway is back_, I thought determinedly.

"Rose, what are you talking about?" she asked cautiously, not seeming entirely pleased with her new-found bravado.

"I have to find him. Dimitri."

"I don't think that's wise, honey…" Mom sighed, crossing the room and standing in front of me.

"But it _is_ wise. Look what he wrote me." I cried excitedly, thrusting the crumpled paper into her outstretched hands.

Her eyes scanned it quickly, finally flicking up to meet mine.

"Rose, honey… what am I looking for?" she asked slowly, looking back down at the paper.

"Just read it! What do you think he's trying to say?"

"He's trying to say that he's sorry he couldn't stay and protect you sufficiently, and that he regrets not being able to… I think."

"And that's why I need to find him."

She looked at me expectantly.

"He still loves me. I know it."

"Oh honey…" She sighed. "Your optimism is amazing… One of your best qualities… It's also one of the most… infuriating." Mom said, her brown eyes flicking up quickly, waiting for me to lose it.

I didn't.

Those words knocked me speechless, even when I felt like screaming myself hoarse.

They ran so parallel to the words Dimitri had spoken… _that day_.

I started crying.

"Oh, Rose… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that… It wasn't meant to sound like that!" Mom cried, pulling me into a tight embrace. It was comforting, but there was only one person's arms I wanted to be in right now.

"Look mom, if Abe… if dad told you he didn't love you any more… and then just _left_, wouldn't you want to pursue him… see what happened?" I spluttered in that annoying way I always did after crying.

"I guess I would." She agreed carefully.

"Don't you see then? It's not that I want to go after him… I _need_ to. I need _him_."

"Okay, I think… I think I see what you're saying. Please don't get your hopes up though Rose, Dimitri must have left for a reason."

"Lissa." I grumbled. "He left because of Lissa."

She frowned, changing the subject smoothly. "So, let me get this straight. You're going to pursue Dimitri."

"Yes. They're sending guardians anyway. Apparently, he's dangerous." I grumbled. "The meeting's tomorrow, if you want to come."

"Sure." She smiled, taking my hand. "Look, Rose, I didn't come here alone."

"I know," I snorted. "You came with Lord Szelsky."

"Well, yes but… Your father's here." She blurted out, blush colouring her cheeks.

"Abe. Is. _Here_?" I choked.

"Yes, he wanted to see you."

"Why isn't he here then?"

"He was giving me some private time with you first." She admitted sheepishly. "Because I haven't seen you in a while… And because of what happened."

"Can we go and see him?" I asked excitedly, clasping mom's hand tighter. She nodded, a happy twinkle in her eye.

We headed across Court together, catching up on what had been happening since her last visit – my graduation. She told me that the only reason she was here was because Lord Szelsky's niece was getting married in a week or so, and he had been coming to Court before mom was called. I was suddenly very graceful to that niece of his. I needed someone by my side at a time like this, and who better than my mom? And now my dad too. That reminded me…

"Abe's not going to be too happy when he hears about Dimitri."

Mom chuckled nervously. "No, he's not…"

I met her tense gaze. "Oh shit." Biting my lip and shutting my eyes, I waited for her to scold my bad language.

"Oh shit as right." She muttered, shaking her head slightly.

I gaped at her. "After so many years of telling you to watch your mouth, I decided you were never going to listen… So why bother any more?" she said, the corners of her mouth threatening to pull up into a smile.

I laughed. It sounded strange coming from my mouth. "Amen to _that_."

She shook her head in exasperation and shoved open the front door to the guardian quarters.

I raised my eyebrows. "I thought we were going to see Abe…?" I trailed off in confusion. Mom averted her eyes; apparently the floor was very interesting all of a sudden.

"He's not going to be here for long, so I told him he could stay with me."

I just stared at her. She started squirming under my heavy gaze.

I recovered myself quickly, shutting my jaw with a snap and squeezing my eyes closed.

"Uh…" I decided to just come out with it. "Are you and dad getting back together?"

"We're… talking about it." She murmured evasively, a rosy pink colouring her cheeks.

"Aw… that's so cute."

"Rose." She growled. Janine Hathaway: call her a beast, she doesn't mind. Call her cute?

Death wish.

"Sorry. Should've known that." I frowned. "I hate being called cute."

"Me too." She agreed, leading the way up to her room.

Abe was standing at the oven in the kitchen… cooking dinner.

_Well, that's surprising,_ I thought to myself.

Who knew Zmey could cook?

I crept up behind him and poked his shoulder. He turned his head slightly to the side, causing his earring to glint against the light from the window.

"Look Janine, I-"

"You what?" I asked with a cheeky grin.

"I-" He spun around, gripping the kitchen counter for support.

"Rose! I didn't even know you were at Court!" He cried as I threw myself into his arms.

"Mom told me that you came to see me…" I trailed off in confusion, looking to mom for confirmation. She stood grinning in the door way.

"See, I am good for some things."

My mouth fell open with a pop, as did Abe's. I beckoned her forward numbly and pulled her into our hug.

And you know what? I felt like I belonged in this tiny kitchen with the blue curtains and minimal furniture; but not because of where we were…

Because I felt like I had a proper, _normal_ family for the first time in my life.

It felt… nice.

"My two best girls." Abe murmured, kissing mom's forehead, and then mine. I smiled up at him.

"If you tell anyone that badass Hathaway went all mushy on you, I will _personally_ kick your ass. Capiche?" He didn't look affected at all.

Mom grinned. "I second that. I am, after all, another Hathaway."

Abe took a step back with an easy grin. "I won't tell if you don't."

"Deal."

"That's my girl." He laughed, casually wrapping his arm around my mom's waist. She blushed and refused to meet his eyes.

I swear to God, they were acting like teenagers!

I cleared my throat loudly, tracing patterns on the floor with the toe of my shoe. My parents both jumped and turned to look at me.

"I'm gonna go… I think you two need some time to yourselves…"

"But you only just got here!" Abe fretted, shooting me puppy dog eyes.

"I know, but we can have lunch or something tomorrow." I stammered quickly, eager to leave before the making out started.

"Fine." He huffed, gesturing to the door.

"Bye mom." I said, kissing her cheek. "Bye dad." I smiled, kissing him also.

He seemed shock – this was the first time I had called him dad – but he covered it well.

"Bye kiz." He grinned, opening the door.

I gave one last wave before heading off down the hallway, leaving my family behind me.

I sighed heavily as I entered the large conference room where our meeting was being held. Every single guardian turned to stare at me as I took my seat near the front. I must have looked ready to lose it or something.

Hans called the room to order a few minutes later.

"So, today, we will be putting together a search to hunt down our very own Strigoi-turned-Dhampir: Dimitri Belikov. I would like to start off by asking for volunteers."

My hand shot up immediately, causing Stan to shoot me a sceptical look and continued searching.

"_Hello_…?" I yelled, waving my hand about. "Volunteer, right in front of you!"

Hans sighed. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Hathaway?"

"Course I am." I retorted haughtily, folding my arms over my chest.

"Fine." He grumbled, scribbling my name down. "Anyone else?"

Silence.

"I will."

I turned in complete shock to find my mother standing tall – or, as tall as you can be at five foot nothing – near the back, her hand held up above her head.

Hans looked between the two of us in confusion before writing mom's name down along with mine.

"Thank you." I mouthed to her. She smiled discreetly before sitting back down.

"So, apart from the two Hathaways… Anybody else?"

"I'll do it." Mikhail said quietly, raising his hand. I shot him a grateful smile.

Hans didn't bother to question it this time. He just wrote it down.

The meeting progressed, and four other guardians that I wasn't familiar with reluctantly volunteered to go after Dimitri.

"You're all dismissed, except you seven." Hans called, waving the guardians away with his hand and coming to sit down with us.

"Walters. I'm putting you in charge of this-"

"What? _Why_?"

"He's got the most experience. Something you are not contesting by interrupting, Rose." He replied, shooting me a glare.

Both my mother and I glared back.

He flinched before affecting his cool, uncaring guardian mask.

"Does anyone have _any_ idea where he might be?"

Everyone shook their heads… everyone except me.

"Rose, what are you hiding?"

"I know where he is." I smirked. "Isn't it obvious?"

"No. Would you care to elaborate?"

I blew a raspberry before answering in a bored voice. "Home. He's at home."

"And where is that?"

"Baia, Russia." I responded instantly.

"Well then, I'll get a plane ready for tomorrow morning." He thought for a second. "Seven o'clock on the Court runway. Destination: Baia."

Terse nods were exchanged, and with that we all left, gearing up for tomorrow.

The plane trip was tense. I sat with my mother, whining the entire way about how much of an asshole Hans was. She seemed to agree with me. I mean, who was the best person to lead this? Some middle-aged asshole that just got transferred to Court, or Dimitri's ex-soul mate, the one that had actually _been_ to his home, met his family… you get the idea.

The only time the other guardians spoke to us was to go over the plan, which – in my opinion – was pretty much a no-brainer. Get to the house, knock the door, find Dimitri and haul him back to Court.

And, as Walters had re-iterated about nine times now: _always_ listen to the leader.

As if _that's_ going to happen.

I had already decided that I didn't like him… not one bit. He was a self-righteous old asshole… kind of reminded me of Stan. And by the way he spoke to me, you'd think I was still a novice.

I slept for some of the flight, sometimes I listened to music, others I talked to mom. I was grateful when we landed at Novosibirsk airport; it felt good to be back out in the fresh air. We crossed the runway in silence and piled into the unmarked black SUV's that were waiting for us. With no more delay, we sped off toward Baia.

Nostalgia threatened to choke me as we pulled up at the very familiar house. My mom rubbed my shoulders gently from one side of me, and Mikhail shot me a sympathetic look from the other. I waved them both of as Walters and his kiss-ass second in command, Guardian Argon, turned in their seats to face us.

"We're going to the door. You stay here." Walters growled, waving Argon off with his hand. "You go and tell the other SUV. This job only needs the two of us."

"What the-?" I yelled, throwing my body forward and almost strangling myself with the seatbelt.

"Hathaway, I want no difficulty from you. You are nothing more than a thorn in my side."

Suddenly, mom was right in his face.

"That is my _daughter_ you're talking about, Walters. My daughter, who graduated top of her class from St. Vladimir's with one of the _highest_ scores in their history. My daughter, who was taught by Guardian Belikov, the most promising young guardian we have. My daughter, who lost one best friend, saved another's life _and_ killed two Strigoi, all before she turned eighteen. Now, what was that you were saying about a thorn in your side?"

Everyone just stared at her, shocked.

Unfortunately, Walters was the first to recover.

"So that's how it's going to be, eh?" he asked with a harsh laugh. "Suit yourselves."

Without another word, he and Argon got out of the car and headed up the Belikov's driveway. A soft beep echoed around us.

"What was that?"

"I-" Mikhail began in confusion, looking around slowly.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" I exploded, pointing a shaking finger at the lock on the door.

"He locked us in!"

"He… I don't believe it!" Mom fumed, pounding her fist against her leg.

I started giggly wildly, which earned me two strange looks. "Olena won't let him in. She's very protective of her family, so she isn't going to let some asshole come in and take her son away from her. She's smart. She'll know what he's up to." I explained, cracking an evil smile.

"Well, we're in luck in that sense then. But that doesn't change the fact that we're locked in."

I ignored her, pointing out the window again to where Walters and Olena seemed to be disagreeing over something. We all watched in silence as he stepped forward in a way that screamed 'threatening' and Olena mirrored it.

"How dare he bully Olena?" I yelled, though I was pretty damn proud of her for standing up to him. Mom shrugged.

"He's a tyrant by nature." I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped when Olena slammed the door closed and the two guardians headed back to us.

"Get ready to jump out." I whispered to mom, who looked surprised but nodded all the same.

"We're pretty sure he's not in there." Walters grumbled, flopping into the driver's seat and starting the engine.

"You didn't handle that very well." I replied scornfully.

"I'd like to see you do better."

"Sure, watch me." I grinned, towing mom out of the car and up the driveway. I vaguely heard Walters screaming at us to get our asses back to the SUV before he dragged us back. I paid him no mind.

With no hesitation, I rang the bell and waited not so patiently for the door to open.

"Look, I told you, he's not-" Olena began in an irritated voice. She gasped when I flung myself into her arms.

"Olena!"

"Roza! What are you doing here with this…" she frowned. "How an American would say it… Asshole?" she smiled, pointing back to the SUV, where Walters was watching us, stone-faced.

"Guardian duties." I sighed.

"Congratulations!" she smiled, noticing mom standing awkwardly at my shoulder for the first time.

"Oh, Olena, this is my mom, Janine. Mom, this is Olena… Dimitri's mother." I said quickly.

"Guardian Hathaway, it's so nice to finally meet you! Rose has told me so many stories."

"Please, call me Janine." She smiled.

"Only if you call me Olena."

"Deal."

Olena lips turned up into a smile suddenly. "Do you have anywhere to stay?"

"Not yet… I guess we just cruise for a while until we find a motel."

"Why don't you two stay with us?"

"We'd love to." I grinned. I loved staying at the Belikov's.

"I'll inform the other guardians." Mom murmured, jogging back to the car. I turned to Olena.

"So you haven't heard anything from Dimitri?" I asked, voice cracking.

"We'll talk about that when you get settled down. I know I can trust you Roza."

My eyebrows shot up. So she had heard from him. "Thank you Olena."

"The girls will be so excited to see you!"

_Maybe not Viktoria…_ I thought miserably. "Sure. I can't wait to see them all again."

Mom materialised beside me suddenly, carrying our two unmarked black duffel bags.

"Walters isn't happy."

"Good." I grinned, grabbing the straps of my bag.

"Rose." She warned.

"I'm just saying what you're thinking."

Mom ignored me, and turned to Olena. "Thank you so much for letting us stay with you." She said gratefully.

Olena nodded and led into the house. "It's really no problem. I love having guests… And Rose is a have around."

I grinned. "See mom? I'm not all bad after all."

"Never said you were honey." She replied with a grin.

Olena shook her head and opened the guest room door. Dinner's at six, Rose, you know where everything is…"

"Yep."

She shot us one last warm smile before closing the door quietly.

Mom set her bag down on the floor and came to join me on the bed.

"She's lovely."

"I know. She's like a second mom to me." I replied with a smile. Mom returned it before standing slowly. I'm going to freshen up."

"'Kay. I might go downstairs and see the girls." She nodded and silently gathered her things together. Once I heard the shower turn on, I left the room and went downstairs. But I wasn't going to see Dimitri's sisters.

I was going to see his mother.

She was making dinner, of course. When was Olena ever out of the kitchen?

She looked up and smiled as I entered.

"I thought I would see you soon."

"Yeah, I guess I'm predictable. Have you heard from him?" I asked nervously, taking a step closer. She looked up from her cutting board sympathetically.

"Dimka's here, Rose. He's in his bedroom."

"I- He- He's… here? Right now? Can I see him?"

"Has something happened between the two of you Rose? You're acting strangely."

"That, Olena, is a story for later."

"So something _has_ happened?"

"Yes. Something completely unexpected and undoubtedly life-changing." I sighed.

She nodded slowly, pain flaring in her brown eyes.

"I guess you'd better go see him."

Without another word, I sprinted up the stairs and started banging on Dimitri's bedroom door. No answer. He couldn't know it was me though, could he? I decided to take a chance and head on in. A shocked gasp escaped my lips as I took in the sight before me.

An empty room.

I analysed the room carefully, checking and rechecking for something I might have missed. A folded sheet of paper sitting on the dresser caught my eye, and I opened it slowly. My face dropped as I read it.

_Dear mama, _

_I'm sorry… I had to leave. I saw the guardians in the driveway, and I couldn't afford to let them find me here. I can't tell you where I'm going, and I don't know when I'll be back._

_Also, tell Viktoria that I'm grateful that she let me get some things off my chest the other night. I needed that._

_So, so sorry,_

_Dimitri x_

I walked back downstairs mechanically and collapsed into a mess of tears in the middle of the kitchen.

"Roza, what is it? What's wrong?" Olena asked worriedly, rubbing my arms.

I handed her the note, and soon she was crying too.

"My baby… gone again." She sobbed.

"I'm so sorry Olena. It's our fault he's gone." I sniffed.

"No no, Roza. _Please_ don't blame yourself." She murmured, wiping her face with a tissue. "Now go. Get settled in before dinner."

"Thank you Olena. When I come here, I really feel like… I belong." I smiled and kissed her cheek.

"You do belong Roza." She called after me as I headed up the stairs to clean up before dinner.

Mom and I went down to the table really early so we could surprise the Belikovs when they came in. Viktoria tore in, towing Paul. She stopped abruptly when she saw me. Sonya and Karolina ran straight into her back.

"Roza? Rose?" they asked carefully, like I was going to disappear at any moment.

"AUNTY ROSE!" Paul yelled, running and jumping up into my lap.

"Hey Paul." I grinned. "How're things?"

"Great! Uncle Dimka played cars with me today. Our whole family's together now." He said with a toothy smile. Viktoria gasped behind him, frozen in confusion, while Sonya and Karolina sat down slowly, shooting me warm smiles.

"_Mama_! Where's Dimitri?" Viktoria whispered loudly. That reminded me: I needed to ask her about her and Dimitri's 'talk'.

"Vika, baby, Dimka left today. I don't know why." She said sadly, passing Viktoria the sheet. She read it over quickly, a look of sharp determination on her pretty face.

"Go eat. We'll talk later."

Viktoria nodded and sat down in the chair to the other side of me. A face-splitting grin immediately washed over her lips.

"Rose."

"Viktoria!" I cried, leaping into her arms. She squealed and hugged me tight.

"I missed you! I'm so sorry for saying all those things to you that night…"

"Doesn't matter. 'Long as you still love me." I grinned.

"Yup."

I laughed. "So, who's that?" She asked curiously.

"This is my mom, Guardian Janine Hathaway." I stated proudly. I also knew she hated using her guardian title in an informal setting. Everyone's jaw immediately dropped. I mean, one of the best guardians out there was sitting eating dinner with them.

"Rose!" Mom chastised. "Please, call me Janine."

"Hey Janine." Viktoria grinned. "It's great to finally meet the person that Rose got her badass-ness from."

"That's not even a word." I laughed, slapping her shoulder. "I totally agree though. I am a badass."

The whole table chuckled at me before settling down to eat again.

After dinner, I helped Olena wash and put away the dishes, chatting easily the entire time. Deep in thought, I headed back up to my room, only to be pulled inside Viktoria's room.

"Hey! What gives?" I asked her, unclenching her hand from my sleeve.

She shot me a sheepish look and held her hands by her sides.

"Rose. Something terrible has happened. When my brother was here, he-"

"… had a heart-to-heart with you. I know, I read the note he left."

"He told me all about what happened between you two."

"Good. I didn't feel like explaining it again."

"He's heartbroken." She whispered, taking my hand carefully.

"Well, I don't see why. He's the one who told me-" I stopped short, my eyes widening to the size of saucers. "I'm missing something. Something big."

"Roza… Dimitri… Dimitri thinks you killed yourself."

Woah.

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><p><strong>Oooooh... What happens next? Nice little cliffy there :D<strong>

**So, Walters is an asshole, right? Eugh, hate him :/**

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**Annie x**


	5. Close Call

**Um... WOW! O.O**

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**Thank you ever so much to: Lock Ness Monster13, blakroze, Twilighternproud, RANDOM COOKIE NINJA, BadassSyd, sunayna4sho, vampiregirlxx, Rosmarie Hathaway, DimitriBelikovLover96, kittenxxkisses, olivia williams, SirenTheSpazz and LovinTheSun1996! 3 LOVE you all!**

**As you probably noticed, i have changed the name of the story to 'Crossed Wires' cause it fits better... and it sounds cool XD**

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**Annie x**

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><p>CHAPTER 5 – CLOSE CALL<p>

DPOV

Life was almost back to normal – bar the gaping hole in my heart that Rose's passing had left. It was easy to fall back into the familiar routine of living with my family, and as long as I didn't have a lot of time on my hands, I could forget about my life at Court and just focus on the present. Or so I thought…

The sound of a car pulling up yanked me from my daydreams… which were mostly about Rose. I listened harder for a second… not one car, _two_.

What would two cars be doing outside our house?

I walked to the window, and the sight I saw before me almost caused my heart to stop beating.

Two unmarked black SUV's, exactly like the ones the Guardians used. I watched in horror as two men in their black Guardian outfits got out of the first car.

I needed to get out of here. Now.

I scrambled along my desk for a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled a hasty note for my mother and the rest of my family:

_Dear mama, _

_I'm sorry… I had to leave. I saw the guardians in the driveway, and I couldn't afford to let them find me here. I can't tell you where I'm going, and I don't know when I'll be back._

_Also, tell Viktoria that I'm grateful that she let me get some things off my chest the other night. I needed that._

_So, so sorry,_

_Dimitri x_

I didn't realise I was crying until a teardrop landed on my hand. I scrubbed at my eyes quickly and left the note on the dresser. Looking around the room, I tried to think about what I needed to take with me. My wallet caught my eye from where it was sitting on my chest of drawers. I swiped it up and ran from the room, heading to my mother's bedroom at the back of the house. I opened the window and immediately slapped my forehead. I _knew_ I had forgotten something.

I sprinted back into my room and grabbed my duster from the bedpost. There was no way I was losing _another_ one. I took a quick peek out the window. The tinted windows on the SUV's prevented me from seeing who was in them, but I could see two guardians beneath me, on the doorstep. There wasn't going to be enough time for me to get out.

It took me a minute to fit my large frame out the window, but I managed it. I sat on the window ledge and looked down at the ground. It was too far to jump down, but the drainpipe was a good two metres away. Either way, I was probably going to fall and hurt – if not kill – myself. It's not like I have much to live for now though.

After some quick thinking, I decided I'd have to jump. The drainpipe wasn't going to hold my weight.

I braced myself and leaned off the window ledge, so that all my weight was on my arms. With a deep breath, I pushed off at just the right angle. The ground hurtled towards me faster than I thought and I was thoroughly unprepared for landing when I hit the hard concrete. I heard a sharp intake of breath and a sharp crack as my left ankle twisted at an unnatural angle. I grunted in pain and I pulled myself up, testing my foot. I could hardly place any weight on it without crying out in pain.

A broken ankle: just what I needed at a time like this.

I moved on quickly, jogging lopsidedly to where I left the car. By the time I reached it, it felt like flames were licking up my leg from my foot. I pulled out of the town's only parking lot and almost blacked out from the pain of braking. That would take some getting used to.

I didn't stop until I hit Omsk. There, I filled up the tank and got something to eat. On an impulse, I stopped outside a large chain supermarket to stock up. My breathing became laboured as I trekked across the parking lot. I hadn't walked on my foot since Baia, which was turning out for the worst now. I tried to look inconspicuous as I entered the store, immediately searching for the first aid.

Some painkillers, bandages and ice later, I went looking for some food. I picked up some fruit, bread, coffee and donuts – merely for old times sake.

When I got back to the car, I pulled off my shoe and sock, gingerly pressing ice against my swollen ankle. It was angry and red… and most definitely broken. Once the swelling started to go down a bit, I decided to try and set it back in place. Before doing so, I checked all the windows were up.

"AAAAH!" I yelled, cracking my ankle into place. Tears were forming in my eyes as I pulled the bandages from my bag and started wrapping them tightly round my foot and up my leg. It hurt, but it worked. It wasn't nearly as painful now. Finally, I dry-swallowed a couple of painkillers and I was off again.

I wouldn't need to sleep for another twenty four hours or so, and that would give me a good head-start if the guardians decided to pursue me. My next destination was Novosibirsk, which was about three hundred and eighty miles from Omsk.

I had to slow down when I was travelling through towns, so I mostly kept to the freeways. On those, I stayed ridiculously over the speed limit – at about ninety miles an hour. It only took me just under five hours to get to Novosibirsk.

I was absolutely exhausted as I circled the city looking for a motel. I found a decent looking one in the suburbs, set back from the main road.

Boy, was I ever more wrong.

The second I stepped inside, the reek of smoke hit me like a hammer, causing me to take a step back. I searched the grey haze for a reception desk and spotted a grotty table in the corner. I would have turned on my heel and left if I hadn't been so shattered.

"A room, please." I said in Russian. The guy just looked at me, running his fingers through his grubby yellow-blonde hair.

"I don't speak Russian." He replied dumbly. Good luck running a motel in the middle of Siberia.

"One room, please." I repeated, in English this time. Understanding lit up his piggish features.

"Coming right up." He turned away from me and began searching through drawers. I laid the money out as he picked up my key. He passed it to me and turned to count the money.

"Have a good night." He called. I swatted smoke from in front of my face as I choked my way to the stairs. No way was I taking the elevator in a place like this.

My room was just like I expected: old, dingy and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I was so tired that I collapsed onto the bed without hesitation, and fell into the first good sleep I'd had in a week.

I left early the next morning before anyone was up. I didn't know where I was going after Novosibirsk. Just drive and hope for the best.

I headed up another monotonous freeway, keeping to the speed limit this time. After having such a good sleep last night, I stayed alert, not letting the dull road lull me. Suddenly, a black range rover pulled out into the road in front of me. I jerked the wheel hard to the right to avoid hitting it, standing on the horn at the same time. The range rover pulled over to the left, while I went hurtling to the right. I barely felt the back-breaking jolt as the car rammed into the concrete crash barrier in the centre of the road before everything went black.

RPOV

"_He's heartbroken." She whispered, taking my hand carefully._

"_Well, I don't see why. He's the one who told me-" I stopped short, my eyes widening to the size of saucers. "I'm missing something. Something big."_

"_Roza… Dimitri… Dimitri thinks you killed yourself."_

_Woah._

"He… He what?" I whispered, feeling my body trembling against Viktoria's hand.

"He thinks you killed yourself because he didn't love you any more," I winced at her choice of words. "And that's why he left Court…"

So… Dimitri didn't trash his room, take out two guardians and flee Court for Lissa.

He did it for _me_.

Maybe he wasn't _in_ love with me, but he sure as hell still loved me in _some_ way.

"Viktoria… I didn't try to commit suicide-"

"I know." She nodded, gesturing to where I was sitting. "And that's why you're here."

I held up my hand, ignoring her smart-ass tone. "I didn't try to commit suicide… Lissa did."

I expected a "_What? Why?_" but I didn't get it.

"Then what the Hell are you doing _here_?"

I hesitated, thinking carefully about what to say. "I-I- I wasn't making Lissa better while I was at Court, she's in a coma… I can't help her. And… well, I can't lose Dimitri again, Vik, I just don't think I could handle that."

"You love him… more than I thought." She observed.

"I thought I had made it pretty obvious to everyone… including him." I muttered.

"Well, don't worry. I gave him a good talking to the other night."

"Anything in particular I should hear about?"

"Well…" he hesitated. "He didn't actually say this, but I think… I _think_ he still loves you."

"What did he say?" I asked impatiently.

"Before I start… Did you break Victor Dashkov out of prison?" she questioned curiously. I fidgeted for a bit before nodding.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Nope." She grinned. "I just knew that you're the only person crazy enough to attempt that kind of plan."

I blew a raspberry. "Yeah yeah, you can insult me some other time. Right now, you need to tell me what happened."

And she did. She told me exactly what she told him, and how he reacted to it. Tears began to form in my eyes when she narrated, "Vika… I haven't told you the worst part." I knew what was coming.

"So then I yelled, "what could be worse than all of that?" and he said, "Roza… she killed herself." I swear, Rose, I have never seen so much pain in his eyes."

I sniffed and scrubbed at my own eyes, which were red-rimmed and sore.

"What happened next?" I croaked.

"I told him I was so sorry and pulled him into my arms. He was sobbing for more than ten minutes… Rose, I've never even seen him _tear up_ before that day, never mind bawl his eyes out."

I choked up at hearing that. Dimitri was crying because of me… I had caused him pain.

"I need to find him… Sort all this out."

"How are you going to do that?" she asked curiously.

"I'm a guardian." I smiled weakly. "I know how to handle situations like these."

"Yeah, well you can't do anything now." Viktoria pointed out. "We'll have to be getting to bed soon."

"Fine, but first thing tomorrow morning."

"Deal."

I nodded and headed back to my room. Without undressing, I collapsed on the bed and fell asleep on the spot.

Next morning, I was up before even _Olena_ was. I shovelled my breakfast down and set to work immediately.

I started in Dimitri's bedroom, searching for anything out of the ordinary. I quickly noted that his wallet and duster were missing but apart from that, nothing seemed disturbed.

"Dimitri must have escaped through the window... but not this one."

"I don't get it. How are you figuring this out?" Viktoria asked from the doorway.

"He left when he saw us, so he was in here when we pulled up." I explained, pointing out the window at the view of the driveway. "Which rooms are at the back of the house?"

"Mine and mama's." she answered with a frown. If she was anything like Dimitri – like I knew she was – she would hate being in the dark. I paced down the hallway and into Viktoria's bedroom. One look told me he couldn't have escaped from here: the window was a skylight. That left Olena's room.

I jogged up to take a closer look at the window. It was closed over, but not locked.

"Here." I pointed to the open window. "He got out here."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Retrace his steps." I puffed, climbing out onto the window ledge. Viktoria's eyes widened.

"Rose, you'd better get your sorry ass back in here right _now_!"

"Shh… I need to think." I laughed lightly. Determination and focus took over as I tried to think like Dimitri. I quickly assessed both my options: I could jump or shin down the drainpipe. Either way, it was going to hurt. A lot, most likely.

"Rose, can't we just use the front door?"

"No, that's how you miss something."

Viktoria sighed. She knew I wasn't going anywhere.

I came to the decision that I was going to climb down the drainpipe. Dimitri probably jumped, but that's because the pipe wouldn't have held his weight.

For once, being small and light was a good thing.

I stood up carefully on the window ledge and mentally measured the distance to the pipe. My mind told me about two metres. Only a lunatic would try and jump that.

And here I am.

I bent my knees and bounced slightly on the balls of my feet. After one deep breath, I sprung forward and hit the drain pipe with a smack. My hands groped its length, trying to find something to grab onto. The surface was shiny and smooth and I instantly began slipping downwards. Deciding to just roll with it, I swung myself round so that I was sliding down like I was on a fireman's pole.

Halfway down, my hands hit the plastic bracket connecting the drain pipe to the wall. I let go and began falling down rapidly. I bent my knees and hit the ground with a thud. Pain shot up my right leg, but after a quick test, I decided that it was just a sprain.

"Rose, are you okay?" Viktoria yelled, her worried face appearing out the window. I shot her thumbs-up.

"Wait there, I'm coming down!" she hollered, running out of the room. I went to stand directly underneath the window and look around me carefully. If there was nothing here, then I had just jumped from a two-storey window for nothing.

Viktoria came tearing round the corner suddenly clutching a small piece of paper.

"I saw this on my way round." she puffed, passing me the note. I stopped breathing for a second when I read it:

_Guardian Belikov,_

_Don't feel responsible for my actions._

_Yours,_

_Guardian Hathaway_

He kept it all this time.

My stomach clenched painfully as I realised the reality of my words. 'Don't feel responsible for my actions'… he thought I meant suicide.

I needed to find him before he did something we would both regret.

"Viktoria, show me _exactly_ where you found this." I stressed, giving her a light push towards the road. She set off in the opposite direction of the house, stopping after only a few yards.

"Right there."

"So he came this way." I pondered, pacing slowly up the road and stopping at the first turn-off.

"What's up there?" I asked.

"Fields. The road out of town is up that way." Viktoria answered, gesturing in front of us. We walked to the next turn, which was about a minute away.

"The shop's up there… and the main road."

"That's where we want to go."

The shop's parking lot – the only one in town, apparently – wasn't that big, and it didn't take me long to spot tyre marks pulling to the left: out of the town.

"We've hit a dead end." I sighed, taking Viktoria by the hand and limping home dejectedly.

A few hours later, I decided to call in some help.

"Mazur." The clipped tone buzzed in my ear.

"Dad?"

"Rose! What can I do for you?"

"Nothing too out of the ordinary… I need you to help me find Dimitri. Check stolen cars, airline tickets… that kind of thing."

"Is it for a good cause?"

I snorted. "Since when do you need a 'good cause', old man?"

"Okay, fine. I'll ring you back in a few hours."

"Thank you so much dad." I said softly. "I… I love you."

"Love you too, kiz." He whispered before hanging up.

I listened to the dial tone for a few more seconds before cutting it off.

Phase one: complete.

Phase two: yet to be figured out.

I waited impatiently for dad to call me back. Every time anything made a noise I practically fell off the bed reaching for my phone.

Eventually, mom called me down for dinner. That's how long I had been waiting… the whole _day_.

The second my hand touched the door handle, the phone started ringing.

Typical.

I jogged over and checked the caller ID: Dad.

"Hey."

"Rose-"

"Did you find anything?"

"Yes…" he answered uneasily.

"What is it?" I asked worriedly. He was starting to scare me.

"So, there's been a string of stolen cars left across Pennsylvania and Siberia… I'm guessing that a good few of them were Dimitri's doing. A Honda City was reported missing from near the airport in Omsk."

"Is that his car?"

"Yes."

"How can you know for sure?"

"That's where this gets… difficult." He mumbled, letting out a deep breath.

"Dad…" I growled threateningly.

"Rose baby, the driver of the Honda was described as unusually tall, with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes."

"That's Dimitri." I pointed out anxiously. This was heading somewhere… and it certainly wasn't somewhere good. "How could they get such an accurate description?"

"Because the person matching that description was recently admitted to hospital… I'm so sorry kiz."

"W-w-what? …_Why_?"

"He was…" Abe cleared his throat uncomfortably. "He was involved in a near-fatal car crash." I could hear his computer whirring in the background as I sat, dumbstruck. "The other driver – who caused the crash, according to eye-witness reports – got off without a scratch."

"Okay… thanks dad." I whispered, tears filling my trembling voice.

"Rose-" I pressed the end call button quickly and headed down to dinner, though my appetite had just gone to the dogs.

Everyone was chatting cheerfully when I walked in. The second they saw me, everything went deathly silent.

"Aunty Rose? What's wrong?" Paul asked quietly, bottom lip trembling at the sight of me crying.

"Hey Paul." I croaked. "Don't worry about me… I'm good."

I sat down wordlessly. Several 'we'll talk later' looks were cast in my direction as I pushed my food around the plate. Dinner was a silent affair after that, but the second Paul left everyone jumped on me like a pack of wolves.

I couldn't make out any individual voices from the throng, so I held up a hand for them all to stop. The room fell to silence again.

"I know I always seem to be the bearer of bad news around here… but something's… something's happened to-" His name stuck on my tongue, and I couldn't get it to come out.

"Dimitri." Karolina finished grimly. I nodded as silent tears cascaded down my cheeks.

"Dad told me…"

"Dad? When did you find out who your dad was?" Viktoria cried.

"I assume you all remember Abe Mazur…?"

"_Him_? I guess I can see the similarities. Wait, you mean-" She rambled.

"Vika, hush. Go on Roza."

"Dimitri was involved in a near-fatal car crash earlier today… It wasn't his fault, but the other driver didn't get hurt." I sobbed. Mom wrapped her arms around me.

"This just gets worse and worse."

"I'm going to bed." I whispered, standing up and leaving the Belikovs to their grief.

I trudged upstairs and into the room. I left my clothes in a pile on the floor and snuggled underneath the covers. After about ten minutes of no sleep, I got up soundlessly and tiptoed to Dimitri's room. My throat closed over as I looked around at his P.E. trophies and old photographs. One in particular caught my eye: Dimitri and I outside the gas station where we had made snow angels in Idaho. We both looked so happy. Cold… but content. I set the picture down carefully, continuing to stare at it as I walked to the bed and pulled the covers back.

His bed smelled amazing… just like him. Sharp, fresh and clean. I tugged the covers up to my neck and rolled over onto my side. My mind was busy imagining Dimitri's arms wrapped tight around me, his breath on my neck, his lips on mine.

I fell asleep believing that I was in the arms of my soul mate.

* * *

><p><strong>DIMITRI! NOOOOOOO!<strong>

**Heheheheheeee...** **Told you you'd hate me :P**

**Sooo... how was it? Tell me in a REVIEW! Didja love it? Like it? Loathe it?**

**... Do you want to hunt me down and and kill me with your mad ninja skills for hurting Dimitri?**

**TELL ME! :D**

**Annie x**


	6. Recovery

**Hey there! :D Bet you didnt think you would see me so soon! ;)**

**Before i start rambling, i want to scream it out to the world: YOU ARE ALL AMAZING! 18 REVIEWS! I think im hallucinating! XD**

**To all you people who love me: sunayna4sho, Ashes2Dust18, Lock Ness Monster13, LMninja, .wings, BadassSyd, peggy, SirenTheSpazz, blakrose, 0.0-MIDNIGHTROSE-0.0, benaqui2011, LovinTheSun1996, kjkc95, vampiregirlxx, kittenxxkisses, aburke2016, xXVanityXx andFeliLover... just know that I love you too! :D**

**I especially want to thank kittenxxkisses for her super long review! WOW! my eyes were bugging out of my head when i opened the email and saw the LENGTH of it! Amazing :D **

**Anyway, the only reason i'm updating so quickly is because i didnt want any ninjas (looking at you, Lock Ness Monster13 and kittenxxkisses :D) showing up to kick my ass... and i know some of you wanted it to be a different person who was in the car crash, but sadly, it _was_ Dimitri. Don't worry though, i could _never_ damage him permanently... that would kill me :/ NOW READ!**

**This is kinda short, but I think you'll all love the end... if you know what i mean :DD excited!**

**Annie x**

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 6 - RECOVERY<p>

DPOV

_Beep… beep… beep…_

That annoying noise had been repeating itself for the past hour, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I let my mind reel back to the last thing I remembered: leaving the shabby motel this morning… or well, I thought it was this morning.

The car accident. It all came rushing back to me. The black range rover pulling out, my car swerving to the right, hitting the crash barrier.

I sat up with a start and immediately groaned in pain. One of my arms was in a brace. My mind was working one hundred miles an hour, assessing escape. The doctor coming in interrupted my thoughts.

"Ah, you're awake." He exclaimed in Russian, clapping his hands and pulling out his stethoscope. "You do speak Russian, yes?"

I gaped and nodded. He was Moroi.

"So, how bad is it?" I asked, holding up my arm.

"You have a broken collar bone, a broken ankle – but I'm sure you knew that – and a few bumps and bruises. Along with that, there was a lot of bleeding in your brain but we got to it before it could damage anything vital. You've been out for almost forty eight hours, which is completely normal."

I nodded slowly. That wasn't a good thing.

"You've been very lucky, you know. You had a ten percent chance of survival, and yet here you are. We'll need to keep you just a bit longer here for a few more tests." He smiled.

"That's fine." I replied quickly.

"Would you like anything?"

"No… I think I might sleep for a bit."

The doctor chuckled and called, "Well, I'll be back later," over his shoulder as he walked out.

The first thing I did was panic. The guardians would have heard about the accident by now, and I had lost my head-start… and then some.

Time for me to escape… again.

I leapt from the bed, only to grab onto a chair to stop myself falling over. The world was spinning, so I waited for it to right itself. When it didn't, I shrugged and shuffled forward slowly, leaning down to grab my clothes and shoes off the floor. I carried them to the bed and stopped.

How to get dressed with a broken collarbone and extreme dizziness?

It took me about twenty minutes, and even then I looked very untidy. My shirt tail was hanging out, my jeans were hanging low on my hips and my duster was a bit crooked because of the brace. I buttoned it up carefully and tried to disguise my limp as I walked around the room.

On an impulse, I took my hair down out of its ponytail and brushed it forward, so it hung over my face. After a quick check in the mirror, I threw the door back and walked out into the hallway confidently. My limp was barely noticeable right up until I walked into the small waiting room, where my steps faltered and my heartbeat sped up.

I was hallucinating.

A curvy, dark-haired girl was standing across the room with her back to me. I would know her anywhere, even from this angle.

Rose.

It had to be a side effect of the accident. Rose was dead… I had to get over it.

"But I need to see him now!" She yelled at the doctor – _my_ doctor – and pushed lightly on his shoulder. Great, I was imagining her voice now too.

"I'm sorry but-"

"Please." She whispered brokenly. The doctor stopped and nodded slightly before he turned to lead her back into the ward. He was going to check on me. Not good.

I snapped out of my trance and continued walking towards the lobby casually. It would look more than a bit suspicious if I suddenly started running. The front entrance was in view when a red light started flashing above my head. Seconds later, an alarm started wailing from over the speaker. My legs were sprinting forward before my muddled mind had time to react. My whole body was on fire but I battled through it.

Shoving through the revolving doors and taking off running, I kept my eyes open for a cab and threw myself into the first one I saw.

"Where to?" the driver asked with a heavy Russian accent.

I racked my brains for places in Novosibirsk.

"The airport." It would do for now.

As the cab pulled away from the sidewalk, I sighed in relief. I managed to escape a hospital with a broken ankle, collarbone and a hallucination following me.

If only the _real_ Rose were here…

RPOV

I burst through the revolving door of the hospital and immediately sprinted to the reception desk. I hit my hands off the surface with a slap as I tried to catch my breath. I had run here straight from the train-station.

"Dimitri Belikov."

The receptionist looked slightly stunned but checked her computer anyway.

"Floor 3, neurology ward. You'll have to talk to his doctor if you want to see him." She informed me in a heavy Russian accent. I nodded and jogged to the stairs, taking them two at a time until a white door with a number '3' on it came into view.

I took in the small waiting room before me – it was like a smaller version of the lobby downstairs. The walls were painted sterile white and the floors were laid with pale green lino. Potted plants dotted the room, sitting on table-tops and shoved into corners. There was another small reception desk here.

"I need to see Dimitri Belikov." I said in English, hoping the receptionist would understand me. I don't think she did, judging by the seriously confused look she shot me.

A young doctor suddenly walked up behind me. "Is everything alright?" he asked in Russian. I turned quickly, my jaw dropping. The guy was Moroi; about 6'2 with sandy coloured hair and brown eyes.

"Please tell me you speak English."

He raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Yes."

"I need to see Dimitri Belikov."

"Are you a relation?"

I hesitated. I wasn't about to tell this guy that I was the dead ex-soul mate who he still loved. "I'm his girlfriend."

"I see. Well I'm afraid he's not allowed any visitors-"

"Why?" I exploded in panic.

"He's just out of surgery." The doctor said simply.

"What happened?" I choked.

"He had a lot of bleeding in his brain, but we caught it before it could damage anything. He's fine now."

"Anything else?" I whispered.

"He already had a broken ankle when he came to us," _from jumping out the window_, I thought to myself, "and he acquired a broken collarbone in the accident. Nothing permanent."

"Is he awake?"

"Yes. He had just gained consciousness the last time I checked on him."

"Is he alright?"

"Fine. We'll allow visitors in to see him in a few days time."

"But I need to see him now!" I cried, pushing lightly on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry but-" he began in a soothing tone. That's what caught me.

"Please." I whispered in a defeated voice, tears tracking down my cheeks.

The doctor thought for a second before nodding slightly and turning back to the door.

"Follow me." he said quietly, leading me down a busy hallway and over to a plain white door with a curtain covering the small window.

_This is it_, I thought. _I finally get to see him again._

"Thanks for this Doc," I smiled. "It means a lot."

He nodded and opened the door noiselessly.

I caught my breath. Was Dimitri _trying_ to kill me?

He wasn't there.

The doctor jerked into action, taking in the hospital gown lying on the bed in a heartbeat. He cursed in Russian before slamming a red button set into the wall beside the bed with his fist. Lights started flashing above our heads and an alarm began wailing.

Before he could turn around, I was through the door, sprinting off to find Dimitri. The less of a head start he had, the better. I was down the stairs and out the front door in less than a minute, just in time to see a cab pulling away from the sidewalk. I jumped into the one behind it; some gut instinct told me that it was Dimitri.

"Follow that cab." I yelled to the driver, pointing ahead of me to the fast disappearing car.

_How long had I waited to say that?_

"Got it." He replied in an accent just as American as mine. It startled me a bit.

I sat back against the seat, memorising the license place – just in case.

_A233YA55, A233YA55, A233YA55, _I chanted, making sure I knew it.

We followed them for fifteen minutes before they noticed.

Dimitri's cab – or so I hoped – swerved onto a side road suddenly, while we kept driving ahead. We had to keep driving until we hit a roundabout to turn back.

"You know what? Forget it. Just take me to the airport. I'm going home." I sighed dejectedly. The driver nodded and turned again.

We pulled up at the airport five minutes later. I threw some money over the top of the seat and thanked the cab driver before hauling myself out of the car.

Just as I was heading in the front entrance, a car caught my eye… well, not so much the car as the license plate.

_A233YA55. _Why did that sound-?

I set off sprinting. Of _course_ he would go to the airport.

The car was driving away from me; I didn't have much time.

I burst through the huge glass double-doors at the entrance and scanned the crowd for a tall guy in a leather duster.

I spotted him walking away from me – limping slightly – out of one of the check-in queues. I read the board carefully; he was going to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

I set off running full-tilt after him. I needed to catch him before he passed security.

My running soon settled into jogging, and then into walking. He had crossed the line. I crept forward, ready to sneak past, only to be caught and dragged back by a strong arm.

"I'm sorry miss; you need a ticket to pass here."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said sweetly, prying his hand off my arm and turning round. I started to walk back to the queue, but spun round suddenly.

"DIMITRI!" I screamed into the throng, using all the power I had.

He turned round slowly, confusion and anger written all over his face. Without seeing me, he gritted his teeth and shook his head, as though he was trying not to think something.

I sighed. Looks like I was going to Harrisburg.

Thankfully the queue wasn't _overly_ long, and getting a ticket only took ten minutes. Security though… that took a lot longer. I waited in line for about forty minutes, and then it took me another ten to get searched. Apparently someone at an airport with no luggage is very suspicious.

Finally, after _all_ that, I headed to the departure lounge, off to find the man I loved.

DPOV

"Dimitri!"

I turned slowly. That voice belonged to Rose. Why did this keep happening? First the hospital, now here. I gritted my teeth. _Don't think about her. She's gone. You're just makes things worse._ Shaking my head for extra effect, I turned round again and continued walking toward security.

An hour or so later, I was seated in the departure lounge drinking _another_ cup of coffee and thinking about my Roza.

I missed her so much, and though I would never tell anyone, every time I thought about her, it took every ounce of strength in me not to just sit down and cry.

The worst part of this whole situation, worse even than never seeing her again, was that it wasn't even _Strigoi_ that had taken Rose away from me – as I always worried they would – no, _I_ had taken Rose away from me. I had been cruel and selfish, and that had resulted in taking Rose away from me, Lissa, Adrian, Christian… _herself_.

I was an awful excuse for a man. I disgusted myself.

Now I would never hold her again, never lose myself in her beautiful eyes, never run my fingers through her amazing hair, never kiss those lips, never feel that touch.

It broke me. Some part of my mind noted that tears were running down my cheeks in torrents now, while another part noted that I didn't actually care who saw me crying.

Footsteps sounded to one side of me, and I braced myself for some over-concerned citizen wanting to help.

I watched the floor, noting the battered black converse sneakers and dark-wash jeans.

"Dimitri?" she asked softly. My head flew up faster than the speed of light, taking in every inch of her. She was there. _Really_ there. She had regained all of her lost weight, and her figure looked even better than it had before. Her dark hair was hanging loose around her gorgeous face, and those brilliant, amazing, _beautiful _brown eyes that I had missed so much, the eyes that I could drown in, were staring down at me. It took every tiny pinch of restraint I had in me not to take her in my arms and kiss with all the passion and love I had. I cleared my throat and tried to speak, only able to say one word before shell-shocked mind shut down again.

"Roza?"

* * *

><p><strong>:O oooh...! Yeah, i know, I'm mean for leaving it there, and yeah, i might not have mentioned that i'm away all next week . but i WILL update as soon as i'm back!<strong>

**Remember, REVIEW! Tell me what you think... tell me what _you_ want to happen! This story almost has as many reivews as Game Night at St. Vlad's which is AMAZING! I've been writing it for like, a month longer! KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING! XD**

**Annie x**


	7. Reunion

**Heeey! I'm baaaack! :D and im extremely haaaappy!**

**25 REVIEWS! EEEEEEEEHHH! Guys, some of your reviews were AMAZING! I'm THIRTEEN FREAKIN YEARS OLD! When i started writing, I thought i would get a few _'good effort'_s and maybe some_ 'work on your vocabulary'_s or whatever... apparently that's not the case!**

**ALSO: A few people noted that this story is similar to that of New Moon by Stephanie Meyer (I assume you're all familiar with it). To be honest, that wasnt what i was thinking of when i wrote this, but I can see the similarities. When I started this story, I didnt know Rose was going to try and commit suicide or anything... this was originally just going to be Dimitri leaving court and Rose going to find him... but i think it worked out for the better so... YAY!**

**So anyway, HUGE shoutout to: olivia williams, Blakrose, vampiregirlxx, aburke2016, Lady Khaldz, Lock Ness Monster13, SirenTheSpazz, sunayna4sho, ChristalSharbutt, LovinTheSun1996, DimitriBelikovLover96, BadassSyd, RozaDimkaForever, anonymous, RDForever, shopaholicnani, raspberry hater, Roza Belikova, kittykat369, i3dimitri, kittenxxkisses, LMninja, Chichi, TeamJacobBitch, Vampire Academy Lover13! WOW, that is a LONG list! :D**

**I HEART LONG LISTS!**

**Hmm... I'm rambling a lot in this A/N... so, yeah. I have a few replies to reviews:**

**To _SirenTheSpazz_: I checked my closet thoroughly and couldnt find you :P you must be a WINNER at hide and seek!**

**To _sunayna4sho_: I'm gonna take a guess and say you loved the chapter? ... Just a tiny bit?**

**To _BadassSyd_: I'm not gonna stop, dont worry! XD I love this story too much ;)**

**To _RozaDimkaForever_: err, wow. Your review absolutely floored me... THANK YOU! WOO!**

**To _anonymous: _need to know who you are! I had tears in my eyes when i read your review. TEARS, I tell you! It was... wow. I cant thank you enough! XD**

**To _raspberryhater_: no, I have to say, i dont think i've ever blown a raspberry, but anyway... no more raspberries.. Sorry!**

**To _RozaBelikova_: :O can we just clarify now that you did in fact say what you said? (cant be arsed typing it out) WOW. That is all. I think i just died and went to heaven...**

**To_ kittenxxkisses_: YESSSS! BLOODLINES! WOO! if you cant tell, im just a tiny bit excited... but yeah SYDRIAN FTW!**

**To C_hichi_: unfortunately, I didnt come across any homeless men with laptops while i was away... ah well... I'm back now :P**

**So... this chapter is dedicated to the mysterious 'anonymous', because your review was PHENOMENAL!**

**This chappie's alot shorter than usual... but i wanted to give you guys something cause the last chapter ended with a cliffie... Like last time, you'll all love the end... TOTALLY UNEXPECTED :D WOOO!**

**Enjoy this fluff,**

**Annie x**

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><p>CHAPTER 7 – REUNION<p>

RPOV

My stomach felt like it had a block of iron weighing it down as I walked into the departure lounge. I was so close to Dimitri… I had come so far, but what if-

_What if_, the two most dangerous words in history.

What if he isn't here?

What if he decides that he doesn't want me?

What if he doesn't even take any notice of me?

What if I look into his chocolate brown eyes and don't see the unconditional and undying love I yearn for?

What if I see hate, blame…

Disgust?

I don't think I could handle that kind of rejection.

I shoved all of my feelings aside as my feet continued to pound determinedly against the cheap lino of the airport floor. I was almost running as I rounded the last corner, but something I saw caused me to screech to a halt.

Dimitri, hunched forward in one of the uncomfortable metal airport chairs, sobbing into his hands. He didn't seem to take any notice of the strange looks he was receiving from confused passers-by. Right then and there, my heart broke. I suddenly understood what Viktoria meant about seeing Dimitri cry. It felt wrong to witness such a strong, seemingly invincible man sobbing his heart out… much less in public. Furthermore, no-one should be allowed to make such a sweet, humble, caring, _amazing_ man cry.

That was when I realised with a jolt: it was me.

I was making Dimitri cry.

I should be shot.

Not able to hold back any longer, I ambled forward hesitantly, stopping beside Dimitri's chair. He didn't seem to take any notice of me, save for the fact that his muscles tensed when I walked into his line of sight – which happened to be the floor since he still hadn't looked up.

Before I could back out, I spoke softly. "Dimitri?"

I knew that if he didn't answer, I would leave knowing that I had done everything possible to get him back.

His head flew up suddenly at the sound of my voice. Startled, I met the beautiful milk-chocolate brown eyes that I could easily get lost in. I watched in silence as he stared at me, in what can only describe as shocked wonder. A million different emotions were clear in his eyes, though he kept his tearstained face blank.

He cleared his throat suddenly and spoke one word. "Roza?"

Only one tiny word. But it was this word… my Russian name, the name Dimitri only used when he was feeling particularly emotional and passionate…

It was this word that made my tiny slice of hope turn into the whole damn pie.

DPOV

"Roza?" I gasped. My Roza was here. Right now.

Or was she?

"J-J- Just… I need to check…" I stuttered, lifting my hand and touching her arm.

She's real. She's alive. …And she probably hates me.

"Dimitri, I'm so-"

"Don't you dare say the word 'sorry'." I growled, surprising us both.

She planted a hand on her hip before continuing. "Well then, what should I say?"

"You should say that I'm a disgusting excuse for a man and that you're better off without me because there is someone out there who will give you the love you deserve." I told her seriously, feeling my heart tearing itself to pieces.

Her face fell. "So that's how it is then… You don't love me any more, so you thought you would play the 'it's not you, it's me' card?" she asked, eyes glassy with tears.

Shocked, all I can do is stare. How could she think that?

Letting Rose go forever… letting her get on with her life with someone more suitable for her; I could handle that… barely.

But letting her go forever and having her think that I didn't love her…?

No, that- that was _unthinkable_.

"NO!" I protest loudly, causing a couple people to stare at me. "Roza… Oh, Roza… how could you even think that? Of course I love you-"

"I quote," she interrupted firmly. "'I've given up on you. Love fades, mine has.'" I winced. She got it word-perfect.

"Rose… how to explain this right." I sighed, trying to order my jumbled thoughts. Rose looked up with eyes full of curiosity. Slowly, I reached out and took her hand in both of mine.

"Roza. I have always loved you... _always_. Every day since I met you in Portland, I have fallen deeper and deeper in love with you. Saying those words to you, telling you I didn't love you any more… well, let's just say I hated myself for doing that to you. You are everything to me, Roza… my life, my world, my angel, my very _self_. Nothing will ever change that fact. That night in the cabin, I gave you something that I'll never take back from you." I explained seriously, regret, sincerity and love leaking from every word.

Rose stared at me in confusion. "I gave you my heart, Roza. It's yours… whether or not you choose to keep it."

I waited in silence as my words sunk in. One minute passed, then five… and then ten. To say I was getting worried was an understatement. Finally, Rose reached under her shirt and pulled out the gold locket that I had given her. She fingered it lightly and popped the clasp.

"That's why you gave me this?" she whispered, tracing the small heart-shape. I nodded, taking a slow step forward. "You-" she sniffed and wiped tears from her cheeks. "You really still love me?"

"Always have. Always will." I answered her, my voice cracking with emotion.

"Oh Dimitri." Rose sobbed, closing the distance between us. I wrapped my arms around her with no intention of letting go and tilted her face up to mine.

"I'm so sorry, my Roza."

"I love you comrade." She whispered in response. My heart glowed from hearing the familiar nickname, and I leaned down to lightly brush my lips against hers. My Roza wasn't having that though. She locked her arms around my neck and tangled her fingers in my hair. I took this as a sign and moved in for another kiss. I sighed inwardly as she crushed her lips against my own. How I had missed the feel of her mouth on mine. If I had to choose one thing I couldn't live without, this was it.

No, _Roza_ was it.

That gave me an idea.

I pulled back from Rose's embrace and gently took her hand. She looked up at me in confusion.

"Um… this is completely unexpected, and I know it's not like me to make impulsive decisions, but-"

"Get on with it Dimitri." Rose answered with a grin.

I couldn't believe I was about to do this… "Roza, you mean everything to me. You are an angel in human form in my eyes, and I don't know what I would do without you. You're my inspiration, my rock, my motivation… I wouldn't be able to function without you beside me every step of the way. I feel like the luckiest man on earth just to know you, and you have to know that I'll never hurt you _ever_ again, I'll stand by you forever… Even if it means I die trying." I said passionately, tears building in my eyes. When I looked down at Rose, I noted that she was crying too.

I took a deep breath and shakily slid down onto one knee.

"I'm thoroughly unprepared for this, so the ring will have to come later…" I sighed and looked up for her reaction. Her body was frozen in place but her eyes betrayed it all. Shock. Happiness. Love. Passion.

"Roza… Will you do me the honour of marrying me?" I asked intensely, staring deep into her sparkling, love-filled eyes.

"Dimitri…" she breathed, holding a hand to her throat. "I- Of course I will!"

With that, she threw herself into my arms to loud applause. My head jerked up to see almost the whole lounge watching us. Rose didn't pay them any mind and pressed her lips to my jaw.

"This is the best day of my life." She whispered roughly.

Well then, that made two of us.

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><p><strong>YAY! WEDDING!<strong>

**Hey guys, i have a request...**

**If there's something that you would like to happen in this story... Tell me in a review or PM me! I'd love to hear your ideas :) if i decide to use your idea I will, of course, credit you in the A/N. That's all.**

**No, wait! That's NOT all! I have some REALLY REALLY REALLY exciting news! (those of you who are reading Hungry for You already know...)**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**I, Annie, am writing a BOOK! a VAMPIRE book! YAAAAAY!**

**Here's a (quite long) synopsis - especially for kittenxxkisses:**

**_Tristan O'Connell might seem like your average Irish teenager: sarcastic, charming and handsome, but really, he's anything but. Ever since he was nine, he's been changing: developing strange abilities, getting stronger, faster. On the day of his seventeenth birthday, the evolution of another power sends him too far and he leaves home and travels toNew Orleans; home of vampires, ghosts and voodoo._**

**_One night, Tristan runs into a band of vampires who inform him that he is one of them. They want him for his gifts, and he narrowly escapes their wrath. Tristan is left to die in an alleyway, battered, bruised and broken. He is then discovered by the beautiful and mysterious Alexis, a human granted advanced strength, speed and agility from the vampires. In return, she must accept the job of Protector when she turns seventeen. If a vampire needs her help, she must be there._**

**_Alexis dumps Tristan on her superiors and tries to leave, only to be dragged back. The Head Protector decides to send Tristan into hiding in the human world and commissions Alexis to go with him. Although she isn't happy at all, she knows where her duty lies, and they are soon shipped to off to the small town ofOakdale,Louisianato start their senior year._**

**_But just how fine is the line between hate… and love?_**

**Soo... what do you think? If i'm honest... i'm sort of excited :D okay... i'm REALLY excited!**

**YAY! **

**Anyway, until my next update,**

**Annie x**


	8. Roses

**WOOP WOOP! Long, _incredibly_ fluffy chapter. So sweet :') And wow! Who's read Bloodlines? I thought it was fantastic! cant wait for the golden lily :D**

**Right, down to business! 15 reviews this time! YAY! Thank you very much to: xxxcrybabyxxx11, olivia williams, shopaholicnani, Twilighternproud, VampireFreakLover98, LMninja, Anonymous, Vampire Academy Lover 13, aburke16, kittenxxkisses, SirenTheSpazz, Victoria Marie Dragomir, sunayna4sho, TheVampireNextDoor and BadassSyd! :D **

**Soo... In response to your reviews:**

**_olivia williams_:** **yeah, all of that drama will come in the next chapter :)**

**_VampireFreakLover98:_ in that case, this chapter is probably more your scene :P I think it's very romantic (this chapter) :')**

**_kittenxxkisses:_ wow o.o that is a _long_ review! Amazing! So thanks a million, for starters :D Next thing: you're right, i totally forgot about Adrian and Rose... i'll try and fit an explanation in there somewhere, but for the time being, pretend they broke up :P Also, yes, Janine shall get a few punches in... and maybe Abe too. who knows XD I will try to fit Sydney in somewhere, but with the gang living at Court, it could be hard :/**

_**SirenTheSpazz: **_**that's so COOL! And i'm glad that my writing has that effect on you and your friend. You dont know how happy that makes me :')**

**_TheVampireNextDoor:_ *Bows to your amazing reviewing power* Hahh, thanks so much! :D**

**_BadassSyd:_ thank you! it's amazing to hear that my story has that effect on you :')**

**Also, someone asked in a review, 'will it be fluffy from now on, or will there be drama?' or something along those lines. In answer, there will be drama AND fluff, though you wouldnt think it with the last two chapters :P**

**This chapter is dedicated to kittenxxkisses, one, for her UH-MAY-ZING review, and two, because she was my 100th REVIEWER! XD round of applause! XP**

**Annie x**

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><p>CHAPTER 8 – ROSES<p>

RPOV

"_This is the best day of my life."_

"Mine too." Dimitri whipered, lifting me off the ground.

"So, are you still going to Harrisburg?" I asked with a grin.

"No, I have a different destination in mind." He answered mysteriously, with a smile that told me he had no intention of telling me where that was.

I pouted. "Aren't you going to tell me?"

He shook his head. "It's a surprise." Without another word, he took my hand and led me back through departures. I followed obediently, still glowing from the surprise proposal. How had this happened? I had followed Dimitri to the airport, scared he didn't love me. Now we were engaged.

_Engaged_. That made him my fiancée.

Wow. I was getting married at eighteen. To a twenty-four year old. Mom was _not_ going to be happy. Actually, neither was Abe.

Oh shit.

I sighed happily as we passed through the airport's huge entrance. Dimitri – my soul mate – was back, and he loved me. Surely, life couldn't get better.

We soon realised that we didn't have a car, so Dimitri hailed one of the many cabs parked at the entrance. He opened the door and gestured for me to get in. I complied, sliding along the soft leather to the far seat. Dimitri slid in after me and began conversing with the cab-driver in Russian. I listened hard for our mysterious destination… but I couldn't catch anything.

"Why won't you say where it is?" I whined, slumping back against the seat. Dimitri chuckled and squeezed my hand.

"I told you, it's a secret. I'm not giving it away." He grinned.

I huffed out a breath and turned to the window. "Fine."

"Roza," he cajoled, tugging my hand. I turned my head. "Don't fight me on this, alright? Just be patient."

I sighed and moved closer to him. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my temple.

We sat like that for the rest of the journey, which ended up lasting _hours_. When the car jolted to a stop, I flew into sitting position, almost banging my head off Dimitri's chin. We had arrived.

"Ah…" I sighed. Of course we were going home.

I jumped out of the car, almost skipping up the driveway. Before I knocked, I waited for Dimitri to pay the cab-driver. He soon joined me on the doorstep. I lifted my hand to knock, but he stopped me.

"Come on," he chuckled, trying the handle. The door swung open. "This is your home as much as mine, Miss soon-to-be-Belikov."

We grinned at each other like idiots. I couldn't wait to be Mrs. Belikov.

"Should we tell your family?" I asked quietly, stepping into the hallway.

Dimitri shook his head. "Not yet."

I didn't question him. Instead, I took his hand and led him to the kitchen, where I could hear noisy chatter. Meeting Dimitri's eyes, I twisted the shiny doorknob and stepped inside. It seemed we had arrived during dinner.

Silence abruptly fell over the table. Surprisingly, my mother was the first to speak, eyes full of concern.

"Rose… How's Dimitri?" she asked quietly. Apparently, the Belikovs were expecting the worst. They all knew where I had been for the past few days. The whole family had wanted to come with me to the hospital, but Olena had finally come to the painful decision that they would stay at home. I guess they couldn't see Dimitri from the table. He was hidden by the kitchen door.

My lack of answer must have worried Olena. "Roza… Dimitri is alright, isn't he?" she closed her eyes, as if not seeing me when I answered would make the words a lie.

"Yeah, he's fine. Apparently, he's a bit shy though." I laughed, turning to Dimitri. His eyes widened before he stepped out beside me. My guess was that he had already gone through something similar to this in the past week.

Once again, Paul saved the day.

"AUNTY ROSE! You're back! And you found uncle Dimka!" he yelled excitedly, going to stand in front of Dimitri. "Uncle D, did you get lost?" he asked seriously, brow furrowed. I chuckled in spite of myself and waited for Dimitri's answer.

"Yes Paul." He replied, equally solemn. "But my Roza saved me… again."

"Well, I mean… I can't take all credit. Dad told me about the crash," pretty much the whole room winced. "Viktoria helped me figure out where you had gone-"

"Not really. I mean, you were the one who jumped out the window and all… I just found the note." She muttered in defence.

Everyone turned to stare at me.

"That, my friends, is a story for later." I chuckled uncomfortably. "Anyway, now that you know we're all good, I'm going to get some sleep."

"And I'm coming with you." Dimitri said, yawning. "I haven't sleep well in a while."

"Fine by me." I grinned, waving goodbye to everyone and towing Dimitri up the stairs. I was about to head into the guest room on reflex when something pulled me back. Dimitri leaned his head down so that his mouth was at my ear.

"Wrong room."

"Not exactly. My stuff's in there." I grinned, pushing the door open. Dimitri stood in the hallway while I gathered my things and shoved them all into my duffel bag. I slung it over my shoulder and headed past Dimitri and toward his room. Once again, he pulled me back. I shot him a confused look while he lifted my bag off my shoulder and slung it over his own.

"Continue." He grinned, gesturing down the hallway. I paced the necessary two metres to his room and opened the door.

"As if I couldn't walk this far." I muttered, going to sit on the edge of the bed.

Dimitri chuckled and set my bag down.

"You must be tired." He stated, looking through his chest of drawers.

"I guess." I sighed, pulling my pyjamas out of the top of my bag.

I stood up and stretched, cracking all of my joints in the process. I didn't usually like doing that, but it felt good after days of being so tense. Dimitri finally retrieved his sweatpants from the drawer and swiftly put them on. He folded his jeans and t-shirt neatly and hung his duster up in the closet. Meanwhile, I shoved my clothes into my bag without even bothering to _try_ and fold them. I pulled my pyjamas on and snuggled under the covers. Dimitri soon joined me, and couldn't help but think of the other night, when I lay here pretending I was in his arms, with his breath on my neck, his lips on mine. At the time, I thought my imagination was doing a good job.

It didn't do him justice in the slightest.

DPOV

I woke up early the next morning. Roza was sound asleep, a peaceful look on her face. I hated to leave her like this.

With a heavy sigh, I stood up and yawned. That had to have been the best sleep I've had in ages. Even subconsciously, having Rose near seemed to having a comforting effect on me.

I dressed quickly and quietly in jeans, a white button-down shirt and – of course – my duster. Then, I scrawled a quick note for Rose:

_Roza,_

_There's something I need to pick up in Omsk. I should be back in time for lunch, but if I'm not, don't worry._

_Love,_

_Dimitri x_

I left it on the pillow and tiptoed out of the room soundlessly. It was harder to keep quiet on the stairs, but after living here for eighteen years, I knew where all the creaky steps were. I avoided them flawlessly, and it wasn't long before I was in the kitchen, hunting for something to eat on the go. I settled on a granola bar, picked up Karolina's car keys and hurried out the back door.

Not having my own car was really starting to annoy me, but I was glad that Karolina had decided to get one. Cabs just weren't my thing.

The trip to Omsk wasn't a long one, but I watched the roads meticulously… just in case. It wouldn't benefit anyone if I was in another accident.

The task that I had set out to complete weighed down on me as I crossed the border into the city. How could I find a ring that was perfect for Rose?

What if she didn't like it?

I had written out a list of all the jewellers in Omsk, and I dutifully set about visiting them all.

Ten stores, ten plucky assistants and a lot of patience later, and I still had no ring. Every jeweller was the same: time after time, they didn't have the perfect ring. None of them screamed 'Rose'. I only had two names left on the list, and decided to go to the last one, because, knowing my luck, I would find a fitting engagement ring in the last place I wrote down.

I pulled up outside the tiny shop and frowned. There was no way I would find anything in here. I got out of the car anyway.

_Might as well do them all_, I thought, crossing the sidewalk and heading inside.

I was immediately met by yet another chirpy shop assistant.

"Hello sir." He chimed in Russian, casting me a smile.

I nodded in greeting. "Hello."

"What is it you're looking for today?"

"An engagement ring." I sighed. I knew these answers off by heart.

"Any preferences?"

"I'd like it to be gold, with a…" I really thought about it this time, "red stone of some sort." I knew about Rose's love of the colour red.

"That'll be a ruby then, sir." I nodded. "Good choice. One moment please." The assistant – whose badge informed me that his name was Alexei – called, heading into a storage room at the back.

While I waited, I ambled around the store, peering at all the expensive jewellery lined up in pristine glass display cases. The assistant was gone for about five minutes, and re-entered the room with a flourish – and carrying a black satin ring box.

"I have the perfect ring for you, sir!" He cried happily, passing the small box to me.

I pinched the top and opened the lid slowly. Alexei was right. This really was the perfect ring. After trawling the most popular jewellery stores in the city, perfection was waiting on this small little backstreet. The delicate band was gold, studded with diamonds around the stone, a gleaming ruby. More diamonds surrounded it in a flower-like shape. I just knew Rose would love it.

"Will it fit?" I asked.

"It will fit most sizes, but if not, bring it back and we'll fix it up for you."

I stared at it some more.

"I'll take it." I said suddenly, shutting the box with a snap.

"Very good." The assistant replied, leading me to a wooden desk strewn with paper work and gift boxes.

I blanched when he told me the price, but quickly put all thoughts of money out of my head. This was special and anyway, Rose deserved a beautiful ring, one she could show off proudly.

I left feeling very pleased with myself, and with a considerably shorter shopping list. Now that I had the ring, I just had a few minor things to get for later. The drive home seemed much shorter, but I used the time to think about how to present Roza with the ring. I had an idea, but I needed to really think it through. It had to be special… and possibly a bit more private than our airport proposal.

I made myself vow that I would do it tonight.

Viktoria was sitting on the doorstep when I pulled into the driveway. As I got closer, I saw her look of determination… almost like she was on a mission. For some reason, I got the feeling that she had been waiting for me to come home.

"Vika-" I began, but stopped in surprise when she stood up and grabbed my arm.

"'There's something I need to pick up in Omsk'?" she quoted as she dragged me round to the side of the house. "What would you need so soon after coming home?"

"I… uh…" should I tell her? "I was getting something for Rose."

"Let me see." She pushed, still suspicious.

"You won't tell her about it?"

She grimaced, like going behind Rose's back caused her pain. I didn't like doing it either… but sometimes, it was necessary.

"No… well, I'll try not to."

"I need a definite answer, Viktoria." I pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"No. I promise I won't tell her."

Without another word, I fished the ring-box out of my pocket and held it out on my palm. Viktoria's hand flew to her mouth as I pinched the top of the box, ready to open it.

"You're going to propose?"

"Already have." I smiled, remembering.

Viktoria raised one eyebrow. "It couldn't have been very romantic, if you didn't even have a ring…"

"Oh, believe me, it was plenty romantic… just a bit… spur of the moment." I chuckled. "Now, do you want to see the ring or not?"

She nodded her head vigorously, making her wavy hair bounce.

Holding my breath, I opened the box. Viktoria would know whether Rose would like it or not.

"Oh Dimka…"

"What do you think?" I asked nervously.

"Rose is gonna _freak_! It's gorgeous!" Viktoria laughed, eyes glued to the box.

"I'm glad you like-"

"Viktoria! Dinner!" Mama yelled from the kitchen window.

I slipped the ring back into my pocket and lightly pushed Viktoria toward the door. We walked into the kitchen together and I was greeted by a grin from Rose. I kissed her gently as I sat down beside her.

"Sorry I took so long."

"What were you 'picking up'?" she asked curiously.

"I'll show you later." I grinned, tucking into dinner. Everyone else did the same.

After we ate, I asked casually asked Janine to keep Rose occupied for a while. She agreed, and, though still confused, asked Rose to go for a walk with her. Once they left, I turned to my family who were still seated at the table.

"So, Dimka, what's this 'news'?" mama asked. "And why can't you tell Janine?" Wow… I didn't expect her to pick up on that so easily.

"I _will_ tell Guardian Hathaway… but not yet. You see, I know that when I tell you the news, you'll be overjoyed, but well… she… might not."

"Why ever not? What are you planning Dimitri?" Karolina asked.

"What am I planning?" I repeated, shooting Viktoria a grin. "Well, I proposed to Roza the other day… and I'm _planning_ on giving her the ring tonight."

Stunned silence.

"I- You- You… proposed… to Roza?" Mama murmured.

"YAY! Aunty Rose!" Paul yelled.

"Well, I'm glad to see _someone's_ happy about the news." I muttered. I thought my family would be pleased.

"Dimka, what are you talking about? This is wonderful!" mama cried, standing up and crushing me in a hug. I smiled as she kissed my cheek.

"My little baby boy… getting _married_! Ah, where did the time go?"

"Congrats, big brother." Viktoria grinned, squeezing my hand.

"I knew this would happen."

"Of course you did babushka." I chuckled, bending down to hug her.

Sonya didn't anything; she just laid a hand on my cheek and smiled. She had always been a woman of few words, and I knew from the gesture that she was happy for me.

Karolina was a completely different matter. Once she recovered from the shock, she was jumping up and down, shrieking about how great this was. Only seeming to notice me, she jumped up and into my arms.

"I'm so happy for you, baby brother." She grinned.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm twenty-five years old." I joked, setting her down.

"Aren't you guys forgetting something? Show them the ring, Dimka." Viktoria instructed with a grin.

"You told Vika first?" mama yelled.

"No… She tackled me. Not my fault." I said defensively, trying to keep from laughing.

"Just show them already!"

"Don't forget to breath, Vika." I chuckled, pulling the box from my pocket and passing it off to my mother.

Her face lit up when she opened the box. She turned it round so that everyone could see it, and shocked gasps echoed around the room.

"First Roza, now this." Mama shook her head. "You definitely have an eye for beauty Dimka."

I beamed. I had somehow found a ring that could match Rose's perfection.

"Do you think she'll like it?"

Karolina shook her head, eyes still fixed on the ring. "Love it. She will absolutely _love_ it."

"I-" everyone turned to see the front door opening.

"We're ba-ack!" Rose sang, skipping into the kitchen. I quickly snatched the ring from Karolina and shoved it in my pocket.

"That didn't take long." I smiled, taking her in my arms and shooting Janine a look over her head. She just shrugged. "I… have to go and do… something. It shouldn't take long." I said to everyone, but as I passed Viktoria, I whispered, "take her into your room and don't let her leave." She nodded, and I left before Rose could ask questions.

This would take some preparation.

RPOV

I had been – impatiently – waiting for Dimitri for about an hour now. It felt like I hadn't seen him all day and, well, really – I hadn't. And then before that, I hadn't seen him since Court. I needed him near me.

Nothing on TV could hold my attention, and I almost laughed when Viktoria told me to read a book. I couldn't seem to concentrate, and I was starting to get jumpy.

Viktoria's phone ringing jolted me out of my daydream – which was a mental re-run of our proposal.

"Hello?" she asked. "Tell her…? Yeah, I'll tell her now… Okay, bye Dimka..." she frowned and hung up. "Dimitri told me to tell you to go into his room."

"Got it." I grinned, sprinting out of the room and down the hallway in seconds. When I opened the door, the first thing I noticed was a single red rose on the bed, along with a sheet of paper. Even though it wasn't signed, I knew it was from Dimitri.

_Follow the roses… I'll be waiting for you._

_And wear something nice._

"Viktoria!" I yelled, waiting for her to join me.

"What?"

I showed her the note, and she squealed when she read it.

"Do you have a dress I can borrow?" I asked, crossing my fingers.

"Sure I do! Come on." She grinned, towing me into her room and throwing open her stuffed closet.

"Colour?"

"Red." I said on an impulse. It was, after all, my favourite colour.

"What about this?" Viktoria asked, pulling out a dress.

"Perfect." I grinned, taking the hanger and running into the bathroom to get changed.

A few minutes later, I came back in to admire the outfit choice in Viktoria's full length mirror.

"Rose, you look gorgeous."

"I agree." I grinned.

The dress fitted me perfectly, hugging my curves to within an inch of their life. The top came in at the waist and was secured with thick straps, and a chunky belt was pulled tight around my waist. The skirt fell like a waterfall over my hips, flaring out and stopping mid-thigh. We paired it with some black heels and my outfit was finished.

"Now, make-up."

Viktoria turned out to be a whiz-kid when it came to cosmetics, and my face turned out looking awesome. She gave me a dramatic smoky look around my eyes and painted on some crimson lip-stick. Without stopping for a pause, she tipped some unknown hair-products onto my wavy hair, and suddenly, my hair was shiny and full of volume.

"Watch your eyes." Viktoria sang, filling the air with hairspray. I quickly looked at my phone for the time.

"Okay Vik, I think we've left Dimitri waiting long enough." I grinned, standing up.

"Have a nice time!" she called as I left. I noticed the red rose in the hallway as I passed. I picked it up and continued down the stairs, where another was waiting for me. I now had three.

I continued to follow the trail of roses, one after the other. After ten, I began to wonder where Dimitri was leading me. I was currently standing in a field, with the town behind me and a small forest in front of me.

I picked up another rose at the tree-line, giving me eleven. I was getting so excited. Two roses later, and I was completely surrounded by forest. I picked up another one that was lying on the ground, and then another one. Fifteen. I had to hold them with two hands now. Five more and I could see lights up ahead.

This was starting to feel surreal. I was holding twenty red roses for a reason unknown to me. I picked up two more roses and then finally, I hit the tree-line again. A small clearing lay in front of me… but the light…

I stepped into the small space and caught my breath. The trees surrounding me were adorned in clear white fairy lights, and there was one more red rose lying on the ground beside some neatly folded blankets. I lifted it and straightened up to find Dimitri leaning against a tree.

He looked amazing. His hair was tied back in a tidy pony-tail and he was dressed in dark jeans, a black suit jacket, white shirt and a black tie. In his hand was the last rose. The rose that took the count up to twenty four.

Two dozen red roses.

He came to stand in front of me and shot me a small smile.

"Dimitri… I… I don't know what to say." I whispered.

He held up a hand. "Say yes… again."

And with that, he sunk down onto one knee for the second time this week. Except this time, he pulled out a black satin ring box. All I could do was stare as he lifted the lid to reveal the most gorgeous ring in the world.

"Dimitri…" I murmured, never taking my eyes off of the ring, with its delicate ruby set in a bed of diamonds. "Yes… of course I'll marry you… again." I added with a smile. He seemed to glow as he fitted the ring onto my fourth finger.

"Perfect." He stated softly, standing up to his full height.

"I love it… It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful, my Roza."

I wound my arms around Dimitri's neck and pulled his head down to mine. Our lips met with the familiar crackle of electricity and I couldn't help but smile. How had my miserable life escalated to this so quickly?

After a few minutes – not long enough, to be precise – of making out, Dimitri pulled back from my embrace and instead held a hand out to me.

I raised both eyebrows and took it curiously. Dimitri guided my other hand up so that it was rested on his shoulder. His free hand came to rest on my waist.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a blissful smile that made my knees shake.

"We don't have any music." I pointed out. Dimitri frowned. "Will you sing me something?" I asked quietly.

He thought for a second before nodding. "Listen to the lyrics."

With that, he started singing. He waltzed me around the clearing to the most beautiful song in the world. I felt myself getting lost in his amazing voice, but at the same time, I was listening closely to every word.

_When I see your smile  
>Tears run down my face<br>I can't replace  
>And now that I'm strong<br>I have figured out  
>How this world turns cold<br>and it breaks through my soul  
>And I know I'll find<br>deep inside me  
>I can be the one<em>

_I will never let you fall_  
><em>I'll stand up with you forever<em>  
><em>I'll be there for you through it all<em>  
><em>Even if saving you sends me to heaven<em>

_It's okay. It's okay. It's okay._  
><em>Seasons are changing<em>  
><em>And waves are crashing<em>  
><em>And stars are falling all for us<em>  
><em>Days grow longer and nights grow shorter<em>  
><em>I can show you I'll be the one<em>

_I will never let you fall_  
><em>I'll stand up with you forever<em>  
><em>I'll be there for you through it all<em>  
><em>Even if sa<em>_ving you sends me to heaven_

_Cause you're my, you're my, my, my true love, my whole heart_  
><em>Please don't throw that away<em>  
><em>Cause I'm here for you<em>  
><em>Please don't walk away and<em>  
><em>Please tell me you'll stay, stay<em>

_Use me as you will_  
><em>Pull my strings just for a thrill<em>  
><em>And I know I'll be okay<em>  
><em>Though my skies are turning gray<em>

_I will never let you fall_  
><em>I'll stand up with you forever<em>  
><em>I'll be there for you through it all<em>  
><em>Even if saving you sends me to heaven<em>

The forest was absolutely silent as the last powerful notes faded out, save for our quiet breathing. All I could do was stare up at Dimitri in awe, my vision blurred from the tears of joy filling my eyes.

"That was… breathtaking."

"Thank you." He answered, pulling me closer. "By the way, you look absolutely stunning."

"You can thank your sister for that."

He chuckled. She knows, you know. They all know."

"About what?"

"The ring. That's why I was trying to get rid of you and your mother after dinner." He grinned.

"Get rid of me? Why isn't mom allowed to-" understanding hit me like a ton of bricks "Oh." She wouldn't be too happy.

"I think we should tell your parents together." He said quickly. I guess that would be killing two birds with one stone.

"Now, Mr. Belikov, what else do you have up your sleeve tonight?" I asked, getting quite excited.

"Well," he began, pulling out of my arms and going to pick up the blankets. "I was wondering whether you would like to sleep under the stars with me."

Could this get any more romantic? "I'd love to." Dimitri's eyes twinkled at my confirmation as he reached behind a tree and threw me something.

"Put these on… it could get cold." I looked down at the clothes in my hands to find a pair of cotton sweatpants and a coat.

"Very romantic." I grinned, whipping the dress off and pulling them on quickly to avoid the icy air.

"Well, so is you catching a cold because you were crazy enough to agree to this." He pointed out, opening his arms to me.

I crossed the clearing and lay down beside him. He had picked a good night, because there were more stars than I had ever seen in the sky. Paired with the fairy lights, it gave off an almost magical feel.

"You know, I meant that seriously. This is very romantic… You've really outdone yourself… and, well, pretty much every male on the planet." I smiled, thinking about how lucky I was.

Dimitri glowed from my compliment.

"By the way, what was the name of that song you were singing?"

"It's called 'Your Guardian Angel'." He told me, pulling me closer.

"It's a beautiful song."

"It is." he agreed, tilting his head up to look at the stars. "Aren't they beautiful?"

"Amazing."

We talked for a while longer, discussing stars, love and life. I had never felt closer to Dimitri. In all the time I'd known him, what with our conflicting lives and the age-old beliefs keeping us apart, we had never actually sat down and just talked for hours like we were now. It felt amazing to know more and more about the man I had fallen for… the man I had agreed to _marry_. Tonight, it truly felt like we were soul mates.

When the sun started to come up, I snuggled closer to Dimitri's chest. Planting a gentle kiss to his jaw, I whispered one last thing to his sleeping form before I fell asleep.

"The best thing that can happen to a person is to find true love. And that's why the best thing that every happened to me was finding you."

* * *

><p><strong>D'aww... I got all emotional when i was writing this :')<strong>

**So, i have a few ****things to say:**

**1. The link for Rose's engagement ring is on my profile... I think it's beautiful :D**

**2. The song that Dimitri sang to Rose is 'Your Guardian Angel' by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus... it's an amazing, emotional song about true love - and it's also my favourite :') go youtube it! you wont be sorry!**

**3. What did you all think of Bloodlines? XD**

**4. Remember to REVIEW! I worked really hard on this chapter :')**

**Thanks :D**

**Annie x**


	9. Chaos

**Okay, so, my first A/N deleted :/ and im going to bed soon!**

**To all those people who reviewed... thank you SO much! Sorry i cant write all the names out!**

**A lot happens in this chapter, and its dedicated to kittenxxkisses because one, she never fails to leave me amazing reviews, and two, she asked for some of the things in this chapter to happen :D **

**Enjoy! and sorry about the short A/N!**

**Annie x**

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 9 – CHAOS<p>

LISSA POV

I was in a coma.

I couldn't seem to take control of my body, yet I was completely aware of everything around me.

"Lissa, baby, please… do something…" Christian whispered for the twenty-eighth time today. I had been counting. It's not like I had anything else to do. "…Please." He whimpered, squeezing my hand. I wanted nothing more than to show him that I could hear him in some way, but I couldn't.

When I wasn't trying to waken myself, I'd been gathering all my knowledge of comas.

My best bet right now was to somehow shock myself awake. But, quite obviously, I needed something shocking to actually happen.

I sighed inwardly. Rose would know what to do in a situation like this.

I think Christian was thinking the way I was. A shock equals consciousness. So far, he had told me that he never wanted to see me again, that he was gay, that he loved me more than anything in the world, that he was moving away from Court… anything he could think of. Which wasn't much.

I felt bad for him, of course. He didn't know whether I could even hear him or not. Maybe he thought I wouldn't wake up. The bond would've come in really handy right now, but for some reason, I couldn't reach it.

Quite suddenly, Christian's steady breathing quickened, and the squeaking of a chair echoed around the room. He was leaving.

"I'll be right back, honey." He told me with a sigh. The door opened and quickly closed again, though not completely.

A few minutes later, Christian spoke again. "Hello-?" he paused. I suddenly understood. He was on the phone.

"Yeah- Yes, I _know_ that you called me yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before _that_, but this is important!" he cried.

"I know you love her too, but I need to ask a favour… I promise."

Christian's voice dropped to a small, broken whisper. "Come home, _please_. Whether you've found him or not. Lissa needs you, and I need her. Please…" It sounded like he was crying quietly.

If that didn't make me wake up, then who was I to know that I would at all?

"No I'm not crying." He sniffed. "Okay, maybe a tiny bit- This is hard for me! I can't lose her… you know what that feeling's like better than anyone. Just please – Surprise? Okay… see you later." He sighed, coming back into the room. So now there was someone 'coming home'… I couldn't even think straight enough to figure out who it was.

So I waited.

NEXT DAY

Loud, clattering footsteps hammering down the hallway broke me out of my daydreams with a jolt. This could be the 'someone'. The door suddenly flew open, swinging round to crash off the wall.

"Thank God you're here." Christian murmured, his seat creaking as he stood. The rustle of clothing followed – I think he was hugging someone.

"Of course I came, Sparky." Rose snorted. "How is she?"

Rose? ROSE? No way was she here. I desperately willed myself to wake up, even just to move a tiny bit.

"She still isn't responding to anything." Christian told her sadly. I could imagine the pain searing in his clear blue eyes as he said that. "Wait, is that-"

Rose laughed. "Dimitri?" Christian asked, shocked. That made two of us.

"Hello Christian," the familiar voice replied, coming to stand somewhere to my left. "It's nice to see you again."

"Are you two… like, together again?"

Rose let out a giggle. That was unlike her. "Well, more than together…"

"Huh?"

"We're engaged!" she squealed.

I think that was the shock I was waiting for.

DIMITRI POV

"We're engaged!"

My heart glowed when I heard those words. Out of all the terrible things that were going on in our lives at the minute, at least we had something amazing to look forward to. Our wedding. The day that Rose would become Mrs. Belikov. I couldn't wait.

"Uh… Congrats." Christian stuttered, shaking my hand and pulling Rose into a hug. "Lissa's going to freak when she finds out."

"Rose," I whispered, eyes fixed on Lissa's bed. Had her hand just moved? "Rose!" I hissed, more urgent this time. There. I was sure of it.

"What the-" she turned and saw where I was looking. "What is it, Dimitri? What did you see? Tell me!" she cried in a rush, clutching my arm so hard I think she might have bruised it.

"Look…" I said quietly, pointing to Lissa's seemingly motionless body. "She's moving."

We watched in stunned silence as a miracle occurred. Lissa stirred slightly, and then stopped again. Rose cried out in frustration and clung to my chest whilst also holding Christian's hand like a lifeline. Lissa's hand reached upwards slowly, shakily. Searching for something. Rose immediately leapt to her side and squeezed her hand.

"Liss, I'm here. I'm back… and I'm so, so sorry." She whispered quietly, brokenly. I knew from her voice that she was crying. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her waist from the back, just a small gesture to let her know that she wasn't alone.

Lissa's arm suddenly locked, as though she had gained control over it. Rose cried out as her best friend squeezed her hand and stirred in bed. Tears were flowing in torrents down her face now. I reached up to wipe them away gently with the pad of my thumb when utter amazement and joy flashed in her glistening eyes.

"Lissa," she whispered softly, staring down into the tender jade green eyes that we had all missed. Strength seemed to surge from Lissa into Rose, and vice versa. I was so glad to see them together again.

"Rose…" she breathed. "Dimitri… Christian…" As one, Rose and Christian bent down to smother her while I stood awkwardly to one side.

"I'll call Adrian." I decided finally, excusing myself and leaving the small, stuffy hospital room.

I had no problems finding his number among the few on my mobile. I pressed the call button and waited.

"Hello?" Adrian asked, sounding somewhat irritated.

"Adrian?" That was a pointless thing to ask, I mused.

He snorted. "What is it, Belikov? I'm sort of in the middle of something, and after what you did to Rose, I'm not sure you're worth the interruption." he replied dryly, momentarily holding the phone away from his ear as he conversed with someone on his side of the line. I couldn't believe he had just said that to me. Didn't I hate myself enough for that?

"Well, I thought you'd like to know that Lissa's awake, but judging by your attitude, maybe not… And also, I'd rather you didn't bring up what happened between Rose and me. The past is past." I growled.

"What're you gonna do about it?" he taunted.

"You really want to know?" I asked, amused. I could take him on my worst day.

"Uh…" he sighed harshly. "So Lissa's awake?"

I chuckled and nodded in greeting to a doctor who hurried past me into Lissa's room. "Thought so. And yeah, she is."

"Now, that _is_ worth the interruption."

"Whatever you're doing must be pretty important."

He snorted. "I wish I was doing her."

"Her?"

"Some girl that I rescued from a gang yesterday." He told me heroically. I smirked to myself. "She won't tell me her name." I could hear the frown in his voice.

"Why don't you bring her too?" I asked.

"Y'know, maybe I will. See you in a few Belikov." he answered before the line went dead. I shook my head. I was beginning to wonder whether Adrian even knew my first name.

I pocketed my phone and re-entered Lissa's hospital room, where the tearful hugs were still ongoing despite the doctor's examination. Rose looked up as I entered.

"Is he coming?" she asked, taking my hand and pulling me over to the wall.

"Any minute. He's bringing someone with him." She raised her eyebrows. "I don't know who she is."

"She?" she cried, no doubt thinking it was another of Adrian's many conquests. I nodded slowly.

"Dimitri," Lissa croaked suddenly, looking over Christian's shoulder to me.

"Yes Lissa?" I asked curiously.

"Thank you for looking after Rose."

"Well," I frowned. "If it wasn't for me, none of this would've happened." That's when it dawned on me that I was actually right. _None _of it would've happened. Rose wouldn't have lost all that weight and looked so sick, Lissa wouldn't have cut herself, Rose wouldn't have run away, she wouldn't have thought that I didn't love her, I wouldn't have been in a car crash…

But then again, we wouldn't be engaged. I smiled to myself. Every time I thought about marrying Rose, I couldn't help that my face lit up and my heartbeat quickened. I couldn't help the huge, spontaneous smile that took over my lips. I couldn't help that I spent minutes at a time imagining her in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle to meet me. I couldn't help the fact that I felt like singing when I realised that I could spend the rest of my life with her. I couldn't help that I almost stopped breathing every time she lifted her hand and I saw the ring. I couldn't help that I loved her more than everything else in the world put together and I wanted to be with her forever. I couldn't help that I was counting down the days until her last name would be Belikov.

I just couldn't help myself, period.

Without really thinking about it, I moved back to Rose's side and wrapped my arms tight around her waist. She leaned into me and I kissed the top of her head gently.

"I love you, comrade." She whispered.

"I love you too, my beautiful Roza. I'm so glad that I got another chance with you." I whispered in reply, eyes watering slightly. What if Rose really had been dead? How would I have dealt with that? I immediately knew the answer.

I couldn't have.

Life without her was like life without anything. No family, no friends, no home… no anything. Not having her by my side made everything seem greyer, more lifeless. It was like my mother used to say to me, 'people say that you don't know what you have until you lose it. Truthfully Dimka, you knew what you had; you just never thought you would lose it.' Funny how that saying used to sadden me, as I'd always wished that I wouldn't have to go through any goodbyes as painful as it had sounded. Then Ivan died, and I sheltered myself from the world, in a sense. Then I met this beautiful, amazing girl, and I sheltered myself from her too. Despite that, she saved me from myself. Taught me how to live again.

And now she was finally going to be my wife.

When I thought of that saying now, it gave me a strange strength. I wouldn't be stupid enough to lose Roza again. Because surely, losing her again would mean the loss of myself.

I wouldn't live through it a second time.

I felt happier, lighter even, after thinking that over. Rose had been receiving small kisses throughout and suddenly turned to smile at me.

"What are they for?"

"I'm just thinking," I smiled. "About us."

"Me too," she grinned, standing on tiptoes to kiss me. I responded instantly, bending my head to her height. In the past, some of our kisses have been heated and passionate, others sweet and loving.

This was one of the latter.

This was an 'I love you to the stars and back' kiss. Maybe the sweetest that we had ever shared. It felt like our first kiss all over again.

And it was interrupted by a certain someone clearing their throat.

"Done?" Adrian asked, shutting the door behind him.

"Well, we are now." I retorted sarcastically, swivelling to face him. He was leaning against the wall with a blonde girl beside him. She looked scared out of her mind. Two things struck me. One was that, sure, she was pretty, but nothing like Adrian's usual 'type'. And the second was the strange gold tattoo that covered the bottom half of her left cheek. From here it looked like a lily. Something about it struck me as familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"Who-"

"Sydney…?" Rose asked, stepping closer to the quiet girl cautiously.

"So that's your name!" Adrian yelled suddenly, earning him glares from both girls.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" the girl – Sydney – asked, looking at Rose like she had just made a horrible situation not quite so bad

"I live here." Rose stated with a snort, stepping closer. "Guys, this is Sydney Sage. She's the one who helped me out when I was in Russia."

Of course. Sydney was the alchemist that Rose always talked about. In all the years that I had been a Guardian, I had only ever run into her kind three or four times. They had always seemed kind of stiff, but I guess they had good reason to be.

"Sydney, this is Lissa and that's Christian," Rose told her, pointing to the bed where the two were sitting. They both gave a small wave. "Unfortunately, you've already met Adrian…" she grinned. "And this… Sydney, this is Dimitri." She beamed, snuggling closer to me. Sydney shrieked in shock and backed up against the wall, with Adrian not far behind.

"What is it?" he asked frantically.

"He- he-" she stammered, pointing a shaking finger at me. I raised an eyebrow. What had I done wrong?

"Sydney, Sydney… calm down." Rose instructed soothingly. Sydney dropped her finger and stared at her.

"Rose, he is a Strigoi. I was at his memorial, so you can't try and tell me any different." She whispered, eyes flicking between the two of us. Oh. I got it now.

"Well, I sort of… found a way round that. I saved him. Nearly killed me too." She muttered.

"I- what-? So, you're trying to tell me that he's _not_ a Strigoi?"

"Check his eyes if you want." Rose suggested, pulling me closer to Sydney, who blanched.

"Okay, so they're brown… just brown," she sighed. "Sorry about that."

"Its fine," I said, shooting her what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

Rose spent the next ten or so minutes trying to get Sydney to relax a bit, but it turned out to be _Adrian_ that succeeded in calming her down. Don't ask me how he did it.

We all bid our goodbyes to Lissa and Christian and left the hospital in high spirits. So much had happened in a day.

Adrian and Sydney were heading back to his apartment, and I started to drag Rose off towards mine, but she stopped me.

"We need to tell mom and dad." She stated uneasily. I knew immediately that she was talking about the proposal and I could see her logic, but…

"There goes my mood." I grimaced, taking her hand and leading her in the opposite direction, towards her mother's apartment.

Rose looked at me unsurely when we reached the door. "Ready?" I nodded. She took a breath and nodded.

"Be on your guard… Just in case." She warned me, just as the door swung open.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" Guardian Hathaway asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Well, we sort of… have something… to tell you. Two things, actually." Rose admitted nervously, twisting her ring around her finger behind her back.

"Come in," her mother said, confused. We stepped inside to find Abe Mazur, Rose's father, standing in the hallway, arms crossed.

"Welcome back honey, Guardian Belikov," he greeted warmly. I was surprised at the emotion in his voice.

"Mr Mazur, please, call me Dimitri."

He frowned. "Only if you call me Abe. Mr Mazur makes me feel like an old man." Rose and I chuckled.

Unfortunately, we didn't receive the same welcome from Guardian Hathaway.

"Rose, sit down." She called sternly from the small sitting room. Abe, Rose and I exchanged a glance and complied.

"What did you need to tell us?" she asked, pulling Abe down beside her as Rose and I sat on the loveseat opposite.

"Well, the first thing is that Lissa woke up a couple hours ago," Rose beamed, eyes far away. Abe grinned and shot her thumbs-up when Janine wasn't looking. I immediately knew that I would like Rose's father. "And the second thing… well, it's about us…"

I watched with dread as both her parents' eyes flicked first to her stomach, and then to her left hand.

"Ah! Congra-" Abe began, grinning from ear to ear. He was interrupted by Janine shrieking.

"You're engaged? She's nineteen years old! You're twenty five! What the hell were you both thinking?" she yelled, standing up. Abe immediately pulled her back down.

"Shh Janine, shh…" he soothed, straining to keep her in his arms. She let out a small snarl.

"How could you? You're too young!"

"Janine, they love each other… it's not their fault." I shot him a grateful smile as he rubbed her arms carefully. "Now, can I let go of you?"

She nodded reluctantly and stood slowly, cautiously, like she was trying not to make any sudden movements.

Too bad she had Guardian speed.

Before I even saw her coming, she was – well, her fist was – right in my face. It hit my nose with a sharp crack, and I stumbled slightly from the shock of it.

"Dimitri!" Rose cried, pulling on her mother's arm. She didn't seem to notice. I could feel the blood trickling down my face, but I quickly recovered myself.

"I don't want to fight with you, Guardian Hathaway. I'm sorry, but I'm in love with your daughter, and through some miracle, she's in love with me too. We're getting married whether you like it or not, but we'd much prefer to have your support behind us. Rose needs you." I declared, taking a step closer to Rose.

"Stay away from her!" she cried, lunging at my again. I raised a hand to block her, but she aimed another punch at my gut at the same time. I just about managed to dodge both, but couldn't quite get out of the road of the low roundhouse kick she sent flying at my knees. I fell backwards, and Janine wasted no time in pinning me. I shifted my weight, trying to get her off me, but every time I tried, she just moved with me, and we remained rolling on the floor until Rose intervened. She pulled on Janine's arm for a second time, and, suddenly Rose's temperamental mother was off me and swinging a blind punch at Rose's face. I didn't think she even knew who it was.

Just before Janine's fist hit her face, I shoved Rose out of the way and took the punch. It hit my jaw with a thud, and pain seared up the right side of my face.

"Mom! Stop right now or I'm walking out that door and never coming back!" Rose screamed, tears budding in her eyes. Janine stopped.

"Do you want to hear a funny story?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "When we told Dimitri's family that we were getting married, they were overjoyed… I couldn't believe how happy they all were. Dad, you don't seem _overly_ delighted-"

"Im sorry if it came off like that, Rose." He cut in. "I'm so proud of both of you, and I believe that age is just a number. It won't affect true love." I swear I almost welled up when he said that. I gave a small nod by way of thanks, which earned me a wink.

"And then there's you, mom." Rose said sadly, the tears spilling over. "Do you know how _embarrassed_ I am right now? You just beat the crap out of my fiancé for wanting to marry me. Why couldn't you just be there for me like a real mom would be? Why couldn't you support the one decision that I've made in my life that I'm one hundred percent sure of? Why couldn't you make this a happy day for me? Because I really am sorry if it doesn't wash well with you, but Dimitri and I love each other and a couple of punches aren't going to change that… ever." Her voice had dropped to a whisper as she talked, and she held up a hand to interrupt her mother when she spoke.

"Rose-"

"No, I'm done here. Bye dad… and thanks." She sniffed, taking my hand and pulling me out of the room.

I could just barely hear Janine whisper something behind me as I shut the door. I didn't know whether Rose had heard it or not.

"Oh Abe… what have I done?"

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><p><strong>See? Lots happening!<strong>

**Random fact: I was listening to A Twist in my Story by Secondhand Serenade when i was writing about Lissa waking up, and one of the lines in the chorus freaked me out a bit:**

**_Finally waking up, a twist in my story..._**

**True story!**

**Anyway, you know what im going to ask now, dont you? :)**

**Please, please please review! They mean so much to me, and i worked SO hard to get this chapter right!**

**They're much appreciated! :D**

**Thankyouthankyouthankyou,**

**Annie x**


	10. Comfort

**Heeey there! :D**

**So I know that, technically, I should be updating game night right now. But i had already started a draft of this, so I decided to just finish it. it's a bit of a filler, and i can guarantee drama next chapter! XD**

**Thankyouthankyouthankyou to everyone who reviewed! olivia williams, Lock Ness Monster13, Twili Princess Hyrule Queen, xxxcrybabyxxx11, Rosmarie Hathaway, Katy Clay, DXR and SirenTheSpazz! Woop!**

**So, Dimitri and Rose have The Talk in this chapter, and Rose tells Lissa that they're getting married all over again! :D**

**Enjoyy,**

**Anniee :)**

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><p>CROSSED WIRES 10<p>

RPOV

Dimitri comforted me as I sat on the floor and cried in his apartment. He smoothed my hair and told me that everything was going to be okay when I went into hysterics. He let me use up all his tissues and ruin his shirt. He told me he loved me when I needed it most. He didn't mind wasting an hour of his life to make me feel better. He let me borrow his hoodie – which I was wearing now – when I began to shiver. The only time he left me was to clean up his nose which, thankfully, wasnt broken.

I felt so safe, so at home in his arms.

Just as this occurred to me, he stood. Life had a cruel way of doing things like that. Without saying anything, he disappeared through the simple archway that I knew led to his tiny kitchenette. I didn't bother following him, and instead walked to the bathroom on shaky legs. Standing in front of the mirror above the sink, I scrutinised my reflection.

My face was blotchy and red, and my make-up had all but run off. Dried mascara tracks ran all the way down my cheeks, and my usually bright brown eyes were watery and bloodshot. My hair was another story entirely. Most of it had escaped from the ponytail holder that I had hastily tied it up with this morning, so I just pulled it down. It looked fractionally better like that. As I turned to get a make-up wipe from the cabinet – I kept some stashed in Dimitri's apartment, just in case – a flicker of movement caught my eye.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd let me clean up my face before you look at me… I didn't realise how terrible I looked." I told him sheepishly, fishing out a wipe and shoving the packet back in the cabinet. When I glanced up at Dimitri, I quickly noticed that he was frowning.

"What?"

"You don't have a very clear image of yourself, Roza." He murmured, stepping forward and twisting me back to face the mirror.

Gently, he pried the make-up wipe from my hand and rubbed my cheeks until the mascara stains were gone. Now, he pointed back to our reflections.

"You still think you look terrible?" he asked. I hesitated before nodding slowly. Where was he going with this?

He reached up to twirl some of my hair around his finger, regarding it carefully. "Your hair is down, and it's beautiful… I feel like I could run my fingers through it all day. You don't need to straighten it, or curl it, or clutter it with clips. It's perfect the way it is. And your eyes… God, Roza, your eyes are unlike anything I've ever seen. Sometimes, they can be so bright, and other times… the times that they darken… when they're almost black from…" he cleared his throat loudly. "From lust… I just… I can't even think straight. And then there's your mouth… your lips. So full, so perfect. I remember the first day I met you in Portland… how I kept looking at your lips. I kept imagining what it would be like to touch them… to kiss them. I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn't help myself." He turned my attention back to the mirror by gently tugging my chin sideways. "Even without make-up, you are by far the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on… and that's without even touching on what's _below_ the skin. Never, _ever_ doubt yourself Roza, because there's always going to be someone who thinks that you are perfect. And that person happens to be me."

I felt a small smile spread across my face as I turned in Dimitri's arms to kiss him.

"How do you always know the right thing to say to me?" I asked rhetorically, my lips moulding themselves to his.

After a few short seconds, he pulled back to look me in the eye.

"I love you… I don't think I can tell you how much."

I smiled softly. "I love you too, comrade… but we need to talk." The second the words left my mouth, I realised how badly I had worded my request.

"I… what?" Dimitri asked, pure, heart-wrenching pain washing over his face. I quickly noted that his hands had begun to shake wildly. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?" his voice dropped to a quiet, broken whisper. He sounded so devastated… I felt my eyes tearing up.

"No! Dimitri…" I was falling over myself to explain what I had really meant. "A lot has happened in the past few weeks… I thought we should maybe talk about it."

Understanding lit up in his eyes. "Oh. For a second there… I thought—"

"Don't you worry, comrade. I'm not going anywhere."

"But I am," he replied. I opened my mouth to question him. "Go and make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back." And he was gone.

Obeying his request, I went to sit on the loveseat in his living room. My fingers tapped nervously off the arm of the chair as I waited for Dimitri to return. I didn't know what he was doing, and I didn't have the energy to go and check.

Minutes later, he emerged from the kitchen carrying two mugs.

"I thought I'd try to cheer you up." He explained, passing me a cup and blowing on his own as he took a seat beside me. I peered into my mug and found hot chocolate – doubled, just the way I liked it.

"Now I know why I'm marrying you." I smiled. It felt so great to say those words.

"For my hot chocolate?"

My smile widened into a grin. "Of course."

He chuckled and moved closer, his face instantly growing serious. "What is it you want to talk about?"

I took a deep breath and let my gaze wander around the room. "I want you to tell me everything. Right from the beginning."

"The beginning?"

"From 'love fades, mine has.'" I specified impassively.

He winced and launched into his account of the story. "Roza, that day… the day I said that to you, that was the worst day of my life. I truly didn't think that I could love anyone again after being… Strigoi. And then, when I heard you were with Adrian—" his eyes widened. "What happened to you and Adrian?"

"We broke up a few weeks back. There was no argument or anything. We just decided that it wasn't working out… now, go on."

"When I heard you were with him, it broke my heart… so I said that to you… said that love fades… because of that. It was so horrible, so brutally painful, watching the hope fade from your eyes, knowing that I had broken your heart. Making you think I- I didn't love you was the biggest mistake I've ever made." He laughed humourlessly. "I'm no man… I don't deserve you after everything I've done, all the pain I've inflicted. But no, I'm too selfish to give you up…" And then, like a switch being flicked, his anger disappeared again. "I loathe myself for what I did. I'm a disgusting excuse for a man…" he whispered, eyes shining with tears. It was painful, so brutally, completely painful for me to hear this, to see Dimitri like this. But I knew that it had to be done… we needed to talk about this.

I reached across the short distance between us and pulled Dimitri to me. He rested his head on my chest as I stroked his hair, whispering 'I forgive you,' and 'I love you,' repeatedly to comfort him. When his body stopped shaking, I tipped his chin up to me.

"Can you go on?" I asked softly. He nodded and sat up.

"I thought about you every day after I said that. I kept coming back to the same thing. _You promised never to hurt her, Dimitri. Now look what you've done._

Then I saw you in church. So sick looking, so thin. There was nothing left in you. You were a hollow shell. There in body, but nothing else. I couldn't get over the fact that I had made you that way, even while my heart still yearned for you. When you noticed me, when you were leaving, I knew that no matter my feelings, I couldn't leave you in such a state. I called your name, but I didn't know if you'd heard me, so I ran out after you. That's when I found your locket. I read the note and, well, it broke my heart. I knew that there was no going back. You had moved on. I let the guardians lock me back in my room without making a fuss. I slept for a while and it was the guardians that woke me. They were making a lot of noise and commotion. I was trying to hear what they were saying when I heard it. The message. '_Guardian Hathaway… Suicide… Back-up… Urgent.'_

My world just exploded in that moment. I can't adequately explain how much I hated myself. I just lost it. I presume you saw the aftermath?" he asked. I nodded slowly, in a daze. I was strangely captivated by his story. "As you know, I assaulted my guardians, stole a car, and left Court." He was facing interrogation from the guardians over his theft and assault charges, and we had been trying to fend them off. Surprisingly, Hans was helping us. A 'wedding gift', he called it.

"I drove to the airport and bought a ticket to Omsk, and then, from there, I went to Baia. I was almost sick thinking about seeing my family after so long. Especially since they still thought that I was… dead, in a sense." We both winced. "Presenting myself to them was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but nonetheless, they accepted me, and I decided to stay for a while. While mama was making dinner, Vika took – well, dragged – me up to her bedroom because she knew something wasn't right. She wanted to know about you, about why I seemed so reserved when I talked about you. I- I- I had to tell her that you had committed suicide… hearing myself say those words to her was excruciating. Saying them made them real… and I just didn't know how to cope with it. So anyway, I got on with my life… until the guardians showed up. I realised I had to leave, so I climbed out mama's window and broke my ankle in the process—"

"You broke your ankle?" I squeaked, grabbing his trouser leg and yanking it up. Sure enough, the edge of a bandage could just about be seen under his sock. "Dimitri! You need to get that checked out!"

"Later." He said. "This is more important." I guess he was right. I nodded for him to continue.

"So I broke my ankle and then drove to Omsk. I stayed in a grotty motel there, and the next morning, I woke up early to get a head-start on the traffic…" I knew what was coming, and I wasn't sure I wanted to hear about it. "That's when I was involved in the road accident. All I remember is that a black range rover pulled out in front of me and I didn't have time to react. I swerved to avoid hitting it and ended up smashing into the concrete crash barrier at the side of the road."

I blanched. It was painful to hear that recounted. But I had a good idea of what happened from here on, and I was interested to hear it from Dimitri's point of view.

"I woke up in hospital three days later, and I knew that I had to get out. I didn't have an escape plan this time though, I literally just got dressed and left.

Something strange happened in the hallway though. I started hallucinating. Hallucinating you, to be precise. I saw a girl standing across the lobby that looked just like you, and she was yelling at my doctor to let her see me—"

My eyes widened. "That was me, Dimitri."

"And then… wait, what?" he asked, stopping to stare at me in shock.

"That was me, in the hospital! You were there the whole time and I didn't even see you!"

Dimitri was sitting up straight, mouth open as if he was trying to phrase his next sentence. "That… was you?" I nodded. "I don't believe it." He whispered.

I shook my head wordlessly. "Me neither… I thought you'd escaped before I had arrived. What did you do next?"

"I went to the airport and booked a ticket to Harrisburg. As I was walking past security, I thought I heard you calling my name. I knew that it couldn't be, and I was angry at myself for even entertaining it. Of course, now I know that it actually was you."

"Yes, that was me." I confirmed. "Go on."

"As I sat in the departure lounge waiting for the plane, my thoughts kept coming back to you. How I would never hold you again, never kiss you, never tell you I loved you. I would never hear you laugh, never hear you use Rose-logic, or make a dig at my obsession with Westerns. My heart was crying out for you, but I knew it was futile. You were gone. I couldn't do anything about that, except feel guilty about it for the rest of my life." His voice broke from the crippling emotion that was no doubt coursing through him. "And then you appeared right in front of me. I can't suffiently describe how I felt at that moment. It was almost as if every negative thing that had happened was suddenly flipped, so it was positive. The sun seemed to shine from the place where you were standing. You were radiant Roza, you still are. In that moment, I realised how much I loved you, how much it would kill me to lose you again. That's why I proposed. I just knew that I couldn't go on without you. I think that pretty much sums up the last few weeks for me." He finished with a heavy sigh.

"Thank you for telling me all that. It must have been hard."

"I feel better for getting it off my chest. You're a good listener, Roza."

I grinned, but it marred slightly when something occurred to me. "I know. Random subject change, but didn't you expect more of a reaction from Lissa earlier?"

Dimitri frowned, thinking. "Our news was obviously what woke her up and, because she was still unconscious when she heard, I'd say she doesn't remember."

My mouth fell open with a loud pop. "Are you trying to tell me that Lissa doesn't even know we're engaged? SERIOUSLY?" I exploded, jumping up.

"That's my theory… now please calm down, Roza." He said slowly, pulling me down onto the couch by my arm.

"I need to go and tell her… Oh my God, she's going to kill me!" I squealed, running into the hallway to get my shoes. "And you're coming with me! I need to get you to the clinic!" I sounded frenzied, even to my own ears, but Lissa would be furious when she found out that she wasn't the first to know about our engagement.

Dimitri, deciding not to question me, he just rolled with it and followed me out of his apartment and down to the clinic. Like last time, the dippy receptionist gave us a bit of bother.

"I'm afraid Princess Vasilisa isn't supposed to have visitors at the moment." She chirped, which was code for 'I don't know you, so you aren't getting in.'

"Funny that, because we were here earlier." I mused.

She frowned and looked up at us through her glasses. "I'm sorry, what did you say your names were?"

"Listen, you might know this already, but Lissa's my best friend and Dimitri here is my fiancé. If that's not enough to get us in, then I don't know what is."

She seemed surprised by the fact that I was engaged to a dhampir, but still managed to look annoyed. "I'm sorry, but I need your names."

I let out a world-weary sigh. "He's Guardian Belikov; I'm Guardian Hathaway." The woman opened her mouth to interrupt. "_Junior_. I'm Guardian Hathaway Junior. Rose." I explained, knowing that she was about to tell me that I was not Janine Hathaway. Maybe it was just me, but I thought the receptionist looked a tiny bit scared when I said my name.

"Oh." She said in a tiny voice. "Of course you can go ahead in. Have a nice day."

Without bothering to respond, I walked right past the reception desk and hurried down the hallway.

"Guardian Hathaway Junior?" Dimitri asked from behind me, amused. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yeah yeah, shut up." I replied with a grin, looking at him over my shoulder.

Lissa was sitting up when we arrived. I quickly noted that Christian was asleep on the reclining chair beside her bed.

"Hey Liss." I smiled, sitting beside her and taking her hand. Dimitri immediately went to stand against the wall behind me.

"Hi Rose. What are you doing back so soon?" she asked with a crooked smile.

"I… _we_… need to tell you something, because I don't think you got it the first time. Do you remember what woke you up?"

She shook her head. "I've been trying to remember… It was something important."

"It was about us." I informed her, and her face lit up.

"You're back together. I'm so glad."

Dimitri chuckled and came to stand beside the bed. "That's not the best part."

Lissa shot us a confused look.

"Liss, we're getting married!" I cried, holding up my left hand. She grabbed it and pulled it closer to her face so that she could see the ring. I looked back at Dimitri, who had plugged his ears. Not a bad—

Lissa screamed. "OH MY GOD ROSE! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!"

Christian woke with a start, and managed to fall off his chair. He landed on the floor with a thud, which made us all laugh. "Jesus! What _was_ that?" he groaned, rolling onto his back.

"I told her… that… we were… getting married." I gasped through my laughter.

"Wait…" Lissa said slowly. "You told Christian before you told me?"

"Well, you were kind of… unavailable."

She shook her head. "I guess…"

"I have one more thing to ask, and then we have to go and get Dimitri checked out."

Three pairs of eyes stared at me in confusion. "Will you be my maid of honour?"

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><p><strong>Soooo... I'm excited for the drama next chapter... how about you guys? :D<strong>

**By the way, I've started a new VA story! It's called 'Dimitri Vs. Adrian'... Go check it out! One of my other moderately new stories - My Knight in Shining Armour - needs some love too :P It's got princesses, princes, knights, the usual :L **

**... so, y'know, if you love me... go take a look!**

**By the way, reviews are greatly appreciated! They make me feel loved! 3**

**Annie x**


	11. Longing

**Hi guys...**

**I only got six reviews for the last chapter, which is pretty depressing. Thanks to Twilighternproud, Dhampirgurl101, xxxcrybabyxxx11, Vampire Academy Lover 13, DXR and JoJo110465, who reviewed seven times :)**

**This chapter's really, REALLY sad. I was crying whilst writing it. And you're all gonna hate me -AGAIN- by the end. I mean REALLY hate me. hehe, imma have some ninjas sneaking into my bedroom tonight :P**

**Soo, enjoy the chapter... I enjoyed writing it :)**

**~Annie**

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><p>CROSSED WIRES 11<p>

"Come walk with me."

"Rose… I don't think I'll be allowed." Lissa told me apologetically, gesturing to her bandages. Three days had passed since I'd told her that Dimitri and I were getting married. She'd agreed to be my maid-of-honour and was slowly recovering here at the clinic. They'd taken out all her wires and tubes – only the bandages remained. In other news, I'd taken Dimitri to see the doctor, and she'd had to re-set his broken ankle because it hadn't healed right the first time. The whole time I was there, I felt like there was something I was missing, something I should've told her…

"Liss, when have rules ever stopped me? Come on!" I grinned, taking her hand and half-pulling her out of bed. "If there's anything you need right now, its fresh air! Get dressed and I'll wait here. Oh, and wrap up. It's snowing out."

Fifteen minutes and a tiny bit of compulsion later, we were at the park in the centre of Court, sitting on the edge of a huge fountain. After some hesitation on my part, I told Lissa everything that had happened in the past few weeks – everything she'd missed. She listened in silence, squeezing my hand comfortingly.

"Rose… that's horrible. But I'm glad it's all worked out now." She said with a small smile. I returned it half-heartedly.

"You don't know how lucky you are, Liss." I told her miserably, looking out across the park.

"What do you mean?" she asked, following my line of sight.

"That… that's what I mean. It isn't fair!" Even to my ears, I sounded like a jealous brat. I didn't care though. I had every right to envy Lissa. "You and Christian can have as many kids as you want. A _family_. I'll never be able to give Dimitri that."

Sadness filled my expression as I watched the young Moroi family laughing and playing in the snow not far from us. The two children – a boy and a girl who were both below five years old – were making snow angels on the ground while their parents looked on with smiles on their faces. The man had his arm around the woman's waist and was whispering something in her ear. Without warning, the little boy shot up and towards his father. I flinched, expecting a crash that didn't come. The man reached out as the boy ran at him and scooped him up and onto his shoulders with a warm chuckle. I smiled sadly as the woman reached up and kissed her son on the forehead before reprimanding him jokily. The little girl stood up and wrapped her arms around her mother's leg, who in turn picked her up and held her against her hip. The man reached out and grabbed his wife's hand, and the little family turned and walked away.

"I want that, Lissa. I want a family. I want a family with _Dimitri_." I whispered.

"Maybe you could adopt." She suggested, equally quiet. I knew she was only being helpful, but her idea angered me. She'd never have to adopt; she'd never know the difference between raising your own child and someone else's.

I shook my head. "It isn't the same."

"But if there's no other way…"

"No." I replied, more forcefully than I had intended to. "I want to have a baby. _My_ baby."

"But Rose—"

"You don't understand…" I whispered. "Because I'm a Dhampir, I'll never feel my baby moving inside me. I'll never have Dimitri to hold my hand when I go into labour. I'll never hold my beautiful newborn in my arms. I'll never have a little angel who looks just like their father. I'll never teach my toddler to walk or talk. I'll never be there for their first day of school. I'll never be able to see Dimitri as the father of my child. I'll never be able to celebrate birthdays or 'baby's first Christmas.' I'll never be able to provide Dimitri with a child – which I know he yearns for. _Just_ because I'm a Dhampir. And _just_ because you're a Moroi, you can do it all. You can have a perfect little family." I didn't realise until I fell silent that I'd been crying.

"Oh Rose. I didn't know you wanted that so much." Lissa said gently in response.

"Neither did I." I shrugged, rubbing my eyes roughly.

An idea lit up Lissa's eyes. "Unless… No. Rose, I'm so sorry, I have to go." She jumped up, doing a good job of pretending that she was checking her watch. "I'll call you later."

I didn't bother to wave. I just let her go. She was hiding something from me, and I was determined to find out what it was… but not right now. I was still too upset, and Dimitri would have a fit if he saw me in my current state.

Wearily, I wrapped my jacket tighter around me and stood up. I trudged forlornly through the snow, kicking it up as I walked. Seeing that family today made me want that life so badly. Maybe not today, tomorrow, or even next year, but someday I wanted to be a mom. I wanted to have a little baby that I could love and call my own. I wanted to have a normal life with Dimitri. I wanted to have a husband who loved me and a child who meant the world to both of us. Lissa didn't get why adoption wasn't an option for me. If I adopted a child, I'd never be able to say things like 'you look just like your father'. I wanted a baby who had my hair, or Dimitri's smile. I wanted to look at them and be reminded of their father, who I loved more than anything. I wanted to look into my baby's eyes and see Dimitri. What Lissa didn't understand was that I wasn't yearning for _a_ child; I was yearning for _our_ child. Mine and Dimitri's.

Without realising it, I had ended up outside the empty playground on the edge of the park. I took a seat on the swing and hung my head. My breath was escaping in foggy clouds as I buried my mouth deeper into the folds of my scarf. I don't know how long I sat there, staring at the ground and feeling sorry for myself, before I heard boots crunching in the snow. The playground gate clanged shut and the footsteps grew closer. I didn't look up, but I knew it was a man by the long strides. He kneeled down in front of me, his familiar aftershave wrapping around me like a warm blanket.

"Roza, what happened?" he asked, pain searing in his voice as his beautiful brown eyes searched my face. Just for a second, I wasn't in the playground any more. I was standing in a field and the sun was shining down on the wildflowers that were swaying in the light summer breeze. I looked out into the distance and found two people running towards me, one very short and the other very tall. Dimitri and a little girl. It looked like they were racing each other, all smiles and laughter. I wrapped my arms around myself and smiled. They came closer and suddenly, Dimitri attempted a manoeuvre similar to the one I'd witnessed in the park. He grabbed the little girl under the arms and swung her upwards, onto his shoulders. She giggled in delight and covered his eyes with her chubby little hands.

"I can't see." He laughed. "Roza?"

My feet moved forward of their own accord and stopped in front of him. I laid my head on his chest as he peeled the toddler's hands off his face.

"Momma." She giggled, pointing down at me and clapping her hands. That's when I got my first good look at her. She was the most beautiful child I'd ever seen – maybe about three years old. She had dark glossy curls that hung to her shoulders and curled messily around her face, plump, full lips and a dimple on her cheek. And her eyes…

She had the exact same eyes as Dimitri.

That's when it dawned on me. Our daughter. This little girl was our daughter. After a few seconds of complete shock, I reached out to hold her.

And she disappeared. It all did: her, Dimitri, the field… everything. I was back in the freezing, snow-covered playground with the real Dimitri.

"Roza? Are you alright? Lissa called me, she said you were upset." he asked, his voice shooting through about three octaves in his panic.

Large, fat tears built in my eyes and ran down my cheeks. It wasn't real. Of course it wasn't. It couldn't be. I'd never have a daughter. I'd never see Dimitri glow like he had in my daydream. "I-I—" I stammered, meeting his eyes.

"Please Rose, _please_ tell me what happened." He whispered, looking ready to cry himself. He reached up and gently wiped my fallen tears away with the pad of his thumb.

I took a deep breath. "I was talking to Lissa earlier… about how Dhampirs can't have children."

He winced, a hundred emotions flying through his eyes in a second. Sadness, empathy, pain, hopelessness, to name a few. "I know it's… hard. Worse than that, unbearable. I want a child as much as you do Roza, but it's never going to happen. As much as I hate to admit it, it's futile."

"You can't talk like that, Dimitri. Nothing's impossible." I whispered, trying to convince myself more than him.

"I'm sorry, but two Dhampirs conceiving a child is." He argued sadly, though I knew he wanted to believe me, to think that it might be possible. He stood up slowly and pulled me up with him. Without another word, Dimitri crushed me to his chest. My tears started up full force again, quickly escalating into massive, heaving sobs that seemed to shake the very ground we were standing on. Dimitri kissed my forehead and buried his face into my hair. Something told me he was crying too, but he was trying to keep it hidden.

"We'll be okay, Roza. We'll make it through this. We have each other." Dimitri whispered. I could hear pain and heart-wrenching sadness in his voice.

"But we'll never have our little baby. I-I saw it. I saw what it could be like, Dimitri. We had a daughter. She was beautiful… so, _so_ beautiful. She had my hair, and your eyes." I smiled gently, reaching up to lightly trace around his eyes. His face softened under my touch, a tiny smile gracing his lips. "But then she disappeared… and I was back here again." His smile dropped.

"When… when Karolina had Paul and made me his godfather, I felt this overwhelming sadness, but I've never really been able to pinpoint its cause. I know why now. I'll never have what she has. I used to think about it every day. But then I decided that it doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter? _IT DOESN'T MATTER_?" I screamed hoarsely, pulling out of his hold and storming off in the opposite direction. The playground gate beckoned me closer. "I can't believe you think that. I thought you were different." I whispered before I broke into a sprint. I couldn't hear Dimitri pursuing me, so I glanced back for a split second, just in time to see him collapsing, crumbling into himself until he hit the ground with a thud. He hung his head in his hands and I could almost hear his anguished whispers from here. I turned around and kept running, running and running and running until I was passing under the huge gateway that marked the entrance of the park.

That's when someone grabbed my hand. They tugged me around to face them and I hit his chest with a slap.

"What do you want, Dimitri?" I asked venomously.

He winced at my harsh tone. "I want you to hear me out. You misunderstood what I was trying to say. I need you to know, Roza. I need you to know that having a child would mean the world to me, but I gave that dream up a long time ago. When I chose you over Tasha, to be precise." He explained calmly, though his bottom lip was trembling slightly.

"Let go of me." I growled upon hearing her name. His grip didn't falter.

"That day, I realised that, children or not, you are one hundred, thousand, no, _million_ more times important to me than anyone I've ever known. I'd rather spend my life with you and have no children than spend it with Tasha and have a family with her. _We_ are a family, Roza. Much as we would like them, children will never be a part of that. It's just you and me against the world." He dropped my hand. "If you still want to run, then go ahead."

I ran and jumped into his arms. "I'm so, _so_ sorry." I mumbled between the kisses that I was planting on his still trembling lips. Without another word, his mouth latched on to mine and we moved in that familiar way of ours. It felt so good to feel his kiss after such a bad day. He pulled back abruptly and put a hand to his head. Before I could ask what was wrong, he smiled the kind of smile that could reassure anyone of anything.

"I love you." I whispered, burying my head in his winter jacket and pulling him closer to me. His arms tightened around my waist and his chin rested on my head. I waited and waited for him to reply but nothing happened. His grip suddenly slackened and I stepped back to see what was wrong. The moment I let go of him, he crumpled to the ground – similarly to earlier in the playground, except that time he'd still been conscious. I sunk down beside him in panic. His eyes were closed and he was as pale as the snow he was lying in. I slipped out of my jacket and tucked it around him to protect him from the cold. My breathing hitched as I felt along his wrist for a pulse.

…Nothing.

Without wasting another second, I backed up and sprinted away, screaming myself hoarse. I ended up smacking right into someone.

"Little Dhampir?" he asked. I looked up.

"Adrian. You have to help me. It's Dimitri."

"What is it?" he asked calmly, gripping me by my shoulders.

"He… he just… collapsed. Adrian, I don't know what to do! What if he's dying?" I sobbed, tugging him forcefully back towards the park. I was panicking, which I wasn't known to do. But then, Dimitri wasn't known to randomly collapse after being fine all day.

"Rose. Rose!" he yelled. I stopped tugging, stopped walking. "You're the faster runner. Go to the clinic as quickly as possible and get the paramedics. I'll stay with Dimitri. Where is he?"

"He's… at the park. The gate. He's lying on the ground. I-I set my coat over him. It's red. Look out for it. Now go!" I cried, shoving him towards the park. I took off sprinting in the other direction, to the clinic. I flew past shocked Moroi and impressed Dhampirs without a second glance. I'd never run so fast in my life. It felt like my feet weren't even touching the ground. My heart was pounding against my rib cage, so hard I thought it might shatter. It was getting harder to breathe; I could do thirty laps without breaking a sweat, but when I was running for Dimitri's life – _my_ life… well, that was considerably more tiring. My legs were moving with blinding speed, so fast that my mind was reeling trying to catch up with them.

Finally, the clinic came into view. I tore round to the A&E and burst through the glass doors. The whole place turned to stare at me.

"What seems to be the problem, Guardian Hathaway?" the receptionist – thankfully, not the dumb one – asked.

"My—Dimitri… the park… paramedics…_ I need an ambulance_!" I yelled, eyes wheeling.

"Right away." The receptionist nodded and got straight on the phone. Suddenly, sirens ripped through the air. "They're outside waiting for you."

"Thank you…so much." I called as I ran out and jumped into the back of the ambulance. Without saying anything, I slid down the side and sat on the floor. One of the paramedics who wasn't driving came and sat beside me. He was Moroi, with clear, sparkly blue eyes and light brown hair that was peppered with blonde streaks. He didn't look much older than me.

"Tell me what happened, Guardian Hathaway." He urged. His voice was quiet and gentle, almost musical. He was the kind of guy I'd always pictured Lissa with… before Christian, that is.

"I was in the park with my fiancé and he just collapsed into the snow." I whispered, not meeting his eyes.

"When was the last time he visited a feeder?"

I laughed humourlessly. "He's not Moroi. He's a Dhampir. A guardian. It's unusual for us to get sick."

Shock registered on the paramedic's face as he tugged at the collar of his green uniform. "If he's a Guardian, then that _is_ pretty unusual." Thankfully, he neglected to mention our Dhampir-Dhampir relationship.

"It's even more unusual for him." I rambled. "I've never seen Dimitri falter or—"

"You're engaged to Guardian Belikov? Isn't he, like, your mentor or something?" the paramedic asked. I met his crystal blue eyes, expecting to see disgust. All that I could detect was curiosity, and a bit of shock, of course.

"_Former_ mentor." I corrected automatically, jumping up as the ambulance jolted to a stop.

"We're—"

I was already gone.

I kneeled down in the snow beside Adrian, who had thrown his coat and scarf over Dimitri's freezing, lifeless body.

"Thank you." I whispered, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. He peeled my fingers back and placed my hand in Dimitri's.

"He needs you." He murmured. As one, we surveyed his body. Dimitri's ears, cheeks and nose were bright red, but the rest of his body was pale, pale white, as white as a Strigoi. We stepped back as the paramedics hurriedly loaded him into the ambulance. I climbed in beside him, never letting go of his hand. Adrian sat down beside me, and we raced off towards the clinic.

As soon as we were inside, the paramedics sped off down the hallway, pushing the stretcher along on a trolley the way they do in movies. Adrian and I were told to wait in the lobby.

Telling me to wait while something like this was going on was pretty futile. I stood up and paced back and forth in front of the line of plastic chairs against the wall. Adrian's eyes darted from side to side as he watched me, though he did nothing to stop me.

Exactly fifty one minutes later, a Moroi doctor appeared in the lobby.

"Rose Hathaway?" she asked, checking the clipboard in front of her. She clicked a pen against her shoulder and scribbled something down. She had long, brown hair that was tied up in a bun and pale green eyes that seemed to change colour under the fluorescent lights. She looked about thirty.

"What's happened to Dimitri? Is he alright? Will he recover? Will he die? Is he already dead?" My voice started off loud but gradually grew quieter and quieter until it was a tiny, broken whisper.

"My name is Doctor Ivashkov, and I—"

"Got a first name, Doc?"

She smiled. "Elena."

"So you two know each other?" I asked, looking between Adrian and Elena.

The former looked up. "Hey cousin."

"Hey Adrian." She grinned.

I shook my head suddenly in disgust. How had I got so sidetracked? "So, what happened to Dimitri?" I asked loudly, butting into the conversation that I had started.

The doctor looked up from Adrian. "The staples in his brain re-opened. Do you know anything about this?"

My shaking hand came up to cover my mouth. "He was in a car accident recently and there was a bleed in his brain, but we had to, um… leave the hospital almost as soon as he woke up."

She laid a comforting hand on my arm. "Well, you'll be glad to know that he's going in for surgery as we speak. The operation should take about seven hours, but Guardian Belikov won't be waking up for another few days, so there's really no point in you staying here. I promise I'll call you as soon as he shows signs of gaining consciousness."

"Okay," I nodded, turning to leave. At the last second, I spun on my heel to face her. "What are the odds of Dimitri pulling through this? Will he be okay?"

She grimaced, like that was the one question she was hoping I wouldn't ask. "It's fifty-fifty," she held up a hand when I opened my mouth to interrupt. "There's a fifty percent chance of Dimitri dying, but the other fifty percent is sort split into different outcomes, if you will. There's a forty eight percent chance that Guardian Belikov won't pull through this completely. He'll most likely suffer from brain damage or possibly minor amnesia."

That's when I fainted.

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><p><strong>...<strong>

**I know, I want to jump off a bridge too.**

**So, you all wanna know what happens next, right? Well, im half way through the next chapter now and ill ud when its finished... IF i get at least 10 reviews. I hate setting targets, but there's no point in writing this if no-one's reading it :/ **

**R e v i e w :P,**

**~Annie**


	12. Angel

**Arrraggh! I'm so sorry i havent updated! Please dont shoot me, but ive actually had this chapter finished since the last time i updated :/ but my laptop was being screwed up, and this is the first time my brother's been out of the house long enough for me to sneak onto his.**

**THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU for the reviews :D shadowhuntergirl1011, Twilighternproud, Ayra, Lucy, JoJo110465, Tasha, olivia williams, LovinTheSun1996, LMninja, Ashterbowden, Lock Ness Monster13, AmberlynnBelikova, XoxBlueRavenxoX, kittenxxkisses, benaqui2011, Dimka's chick, mmmmsmith, lightwood, vampsrock94 and Twili Princess Hyrule Queen :DD**

**As you might already have guessed, this chapter is in Dimitri's POV, and we find out what's happened to him and whether he's okay :P**

**Also, for those of you asking, we'll get to hear about the whole baby situation in the chapter after next, which also happens to be Christmas! I might ud on christmas day, or maybe before if i have it done :D**

**Last thing: I'd love to dedicate this chapter to lightwood, because when the review came through, i was smiling for ages afterwards :D**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

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><p>CROSSED WIRES 12<p>

DPOV

An angel was leaning over me.

My head was pounding like there was a basketball bouncing against my skull. But through that, I could feel stirrings of recognition. I _knew_ the angel.

"Dimitri? Oh, thank god you're okay!" she cried, throwing her arms around my neck. So the angel knew me too. I sucked in a harsh breath and she jumped back, looking at me apologetically. Although he embrace had hurt, it felt… wrong not to have her arms around me.

I tried to find my voice, but it seemed to be lost, out of reach. Not knowing where to find it, I settled for studying the beautiful angel, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, crying quietly. I wanted to comfort her, but for that, I needed to find my voice.

The girl had dark hair that looked black under the fluorescent lights of the room we were in, but for some reason, I just _knew_ that it was actually really dark brown. I knew that her eyes were deep, chocolate coloured brown too, even though she wasn't looking at me. The angel was the most beautiful girl I'd ever laid eyes on, with her flawless face and perfect body.

"Are you… okay?" I asked hoarsely, scratching my chin and finding bristly stubble there. The angel turned to face me with a tiny smile playing on her lips.

"Are you seriously the one asking me that? If you're okay, I'm okay comrade." _Comrade_. That word was devastatingly familiar, and brought a stirring of warmth to my chest.

"I-I'm sorry… who are you?" I questioned, gingerly touching the back of my head, where I could feel stitches. I looked up at the angel, who was staring down at me with a mix of emotions playing on her face. Sadness. Devastation. Anger. Disbelief. Reluctance. And the smallest, tiniest little piece of hope.

"Rose… I'm your Rose. I'm your _fiancée_, Dimitri! _Please_ remember." She pleaded, her hair hanging in her eyes. She batted it away impatiently. So I was marrying the angel. That made me an extremely lucky man.

"I'm sorry. I don't."

Tears sprang in her eyes. "What _do_ you know?"

I took a minute to put my thoughts in order. "My name is Dimitri Belikov. I'm twenty five years old. I grew up in Baia, Russia, with my mother Olena, my grandmother Yeva, and my three sisters Sonya, Karolina and Viktoria. Karolina has a son, Paul. I went to St. Basil's Academy and my best friend was Ivan Zeklos, but he died when I was on a break a few years ago. I worked in an academy here called… St. Vladimir's?" Rose nodded. "I was sent out on a mission to… to… I don't remember anything after that."

"So you don't remember meeting me."

I reached out and took her hand in both of my own, holding it like a lifeline. "Help me remember, Rose. Tell me what happened."

"It could take a while…" she warned. I shrugged. "Okay. That mission you were going on was to find me and Lissa and bring us back to the academy." Before I could ask who Lissa was, Rose answered. "Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, or Lissa, is a Moroi princess. She's my best friend, and she _was_ our charge." As soon as I heard the words 'Princess Vasilisa Dragomir' I knew who Rose was talking about. I'd known of the princess before I'd worked at the academy.

"We had run away from the academy to protect Lissa, and it was your job to bring us back. You succeeded, obviously. When we got back, Kirova was going to expel me because, well, I'm a troublemaker." She grinned. "But you stood up for me, despite the insults I was hurling at you. You offered to give me extra training sessions. And it was at those sessions that we fell in love." Her voice softened and she shot me a dazzling smile. "Neither of us could deny the feelings, the tension building between us. You tried to push me away, but it didn't work. We've had our ups and downs, but we've always battled through it. There was this one time that Tasha Ozera asked you to be her guardian and you almost took the job. It was a friends-with-benefits situation." I couldn't imagine myself falling for something like that. "You didn't take her offer… you stayed at the academy with me. Life went on, until the cabin. You slept with me that night, but then there was a huge Strigoi attack on the school. _Buria_." She whispered, shaking her head. I remembered that 'buria' was the word for storm – the word we used for a Strigoi attack. "People were kidnapped and I knew where they were being kept, thanks to Mason's ghost." I decided not to question her and instead shifted closer. "You helped me get noticed, and a search party was finally sent out, me and you among them." She took a deep breath and looked away. I sensed that something important was about to happen.

"If… if it's too upsetting, you don't have to talk about it." I told her gently.

She shook her head. "It's your life. You need to know."

"Come here." I whispered, shifting over to make room for her beside me. She snuggled up beside me and I wrapped my arms around her automatically. It just felt right.

With a contented sigh, Rose continued her story. "We almost made it out of the caves. You fought so bravely; I was so proud to call you my mentor. When your group were leaving, three Strigoi jumped out of an alcove. One of them dived for you." She whispered, head buried in my chest. "I remember screaming and trying to run back inside for you, but my mother and Stan held me back. I had to watch helplessly as that _monster _sucked the life out of you. For as long as I live, I will _never_ forget the way he looked at me before we left. So smug. That look alone nearly made me march back in there and rip him to pieces." So I had been a Strigoi. That was shocking, to say the least. It also didn't fit, because right now, I was a Dhampir. I didn't know there was a way to come back from being Strigoi.

"Shh… calm down." I whispered soothingly, rubbing circles into her arms. Rose was gritting her teeth so hard I thought they might break.

"After that, I dropped out of school to find you and kill you. We'd said once that we'd rather die than become a Strigoi. I went to Russia and told your family the bad news and then I set out to find you. Turns out _you_ found _me_. You kidnapped me and kept me hostage for a while—" something told me she was editing this. "Well, until I tried to escape. You chased me and I staked you, but you didn't die. I thought you had, but no, the stake fell out of your chest again."

"We've been through a lot." I noted, tightening my grip on her.

She laughed humourlessly. "That's not even _half_ of the story."

My jaw dropped. Rose continued on like she hadn't noticed, eyes far away. "I'll shorten this bit. Basically, I went back to the academy, only to run away again. I had to break Prince Victor Dashkov out of prison because he was the only person who knew where his brother was, and his brother was the only person who knew how to restore a Strigoi. So I broke into Tarasov—" Woah.

"Wait, Tarasov? The high-security prison that's number one, impossible to find, and number two, impossible to infiltrate?"

"That's the one. I broke into the guardian building and got the location and floor plan and stuff. Then I broke in with Lissa and Eddie. We ended up carting Victor – who was our long time enemy—"

"Why did you break him out then?"

She stared up at me in disbelief. "He was the only person who could help me save you." So she freed her biggest enemy from one of the most high-security prisons in the world, put up with him until she got the answer she was looking for and then came and saved me. I couldn't believe that someone would go to such lengths to do something for me: stoic, reserved Guardian Belikov who didn't let anyone in.

Rose glossed over the next part, about our run-in at the Witching Hour and then again at the warehouse. My heart dropped when she told me that, when I returned to Court, I wouldn't speak to her.

"What did I say to you? Was it really bad?" I asked, staring at the wall. I couldn't bear to look into her anguished, red rimmed eyes.

"I've given up on you. Love fades, mine has." She quoted sadly.

"Please tell me you're making this up." I pleaded, hugging her closer to me and kissing her hair. She shook her head.

"Go on."

"After that, I didn't see you for a while. But then you were in church. You chased me outside, but I was already gone. I left my locket on the ground with a note in it." She pulled a gold, heart-shaped locket from underneath her t-shirt collar and opened it. There was a picture of the two of us inside. "You went back to your room and, uh… misheard a message that had come through to the guards outside your door. You thought I'd committed suicide, but it was actually Lissa. You trashed your room beyond repair and then you took out your guardians and… you left Court.

"I went after you, and a wild goose chase ensued. You went home to Baia, but left when you saw the guardians' cars, one of which I was in… but you didn't know that. You left, and I stayed with your family for a while, until I heard about the car accident."

"That has something to do with this, doesn't it?" I asked slowly, fingering my stitches gently. She nodded.

"You were taken to hospital with a bleed in your brain. They fixed it, but you didn't stay long enough to recover. When you realised you'd been unconscious for three days, you escaped… and walked right past me in the process. You thought you were hallucinating. I walked into your hospital room and found it empty. I ran out and jumped into a cab, and then I followed the cab _you_ were in to the airport. I found you in the departure lounge crying. We talked, and then you proposed." She smiled at the memory.

"In the middle of the airport?" I questioned, trying to imagine myself getting down on one knee in public. I wasn't getting a very clear picture.

Rose nodded. "We went back to your family's house and the next day, you went to Omsk to buy my engagement ring. I didn't see you for the whole day, but then I found a rose in your room and a note. Viktoria helped me get dressed up and I followed the trail of roses you'd left out to a little clearing, where you'd set up hundreds of fairy lights. You presented me with the most beautiful ring in the world and then you asked me to dance to this amazing song—"

"Your Guardian Angel." I supplied suddenly. I didn't know how I knew, but I just _did_.

"You remember?" she asked, shocked.

"I don't remember what happened… just… the song. And your ring; its red?" I stammered, recalling this on the spot. Rose nodded wordlessly and showed me her left hand, where a delicate gold ring topped with a ruby glittered.

"Anyway, go on."

"We danced, and then we slept under the stars. It was the best day of my life. The next morning wasn't as carefree though. Mom called you and told you that Walters was coming out to the house. We had a lot of explaining to do – put it like that. After the shit hit the fan, we flew back to Court and went to see Lissa. When she heard that we were engaged, she came out of her coma. That was a week ago. Three days later, I went for a walk with her and we were talking about… how two Dhampirs couldn't have kids. I got upset and then she left in a hurry. You showed up not long after, wanting to know what was wrong. We talked, and I misunderstood something you said. I yelled at you and ran off. Eventually you caught up with me and we made up. Then you…" Rose drew in a shaky, tearful breath. "You collapsed. I took off to get help and I ran into Adrian. He doubled back and stayed with you until I got an ambulance. You had to be operated on, and the doctor said that you would suffer from brain damage and/ or amnesia. They did some tests and, so far, it looks like you haven't suffered from the former… but the latter… well, you didn't remember me, so— so— so—"

Words didn't feel adequate in that moment. Things were starting to become clearer. I was remembering. I remembered how much I loved Rose. How much I still did. I fell in love with her the second she walked through the door, without even knowing that she was my fiancée.

So I kissed her. I crushed my lips to hers and moved against her in a way that seemed both foreign and familiar. The kiss was full of hope, love and passion.

And then the floodgate opened. All of my memories came swarming back into my mind. Meeting Rose in Portland. Our first training session. The lust charm. Finding her after Mason's death. Seeing her face when she heard about Tasha and her offer. Our night in the cabin. The heart-wrenching pain on her face when I was bitten. Seeing her that first time after being turned. The day in the cell. Love fades, mine has. Thinking she had committed suicide. Seeing her face in the airport. Proposing. Driving to Omsk to buy her a ring. The look on her face when I proposed again. Dancing in the clearing. Kissing in the park. The look of betrayal she shot me when I said that it didn't matter. The last words I'd heard before I blacked out. _I love you._

So much had happened in such a short time. It felt like we deserved our happy ending now.

"Roza." I whispered against her lips. The nickname came naturally.

"You remember." She murmured in reply. I nodded. "Oh Dimitri, I'm so glad to have you back."

"I know Roza, I know."

I loosened my grip on her slightly when the doctor came in. "Ah, Guardian Belikov, you're fully awake. I'd just like to ask you a few questions."

"That's fine."

She nodded and turned to her clipboard. "Can you recite the alphabet for me please?" I did. "And can you count to ten?" Again, I complied. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember everything." I told her. This earned me a shocked look.

"I told him everything, but then he remembered it by himself." Rose cut in, rubbing my arm gently.

"Strange. That's excellent progress though. We only need to keep you for some tests and you should be let out within the week. Have a nice day." She called over her shoulder. The door clicked shut behind her.

"She's nice." I observed. Rose nodded in response and untangled herself from my arms.

"I'm going to get some food. Want anything?"

As if answering her, my stomach growled. We both laughed. "Sure."

"Be right back." She called as she shut the door. I watched her leave with something of a bittersweet feeling. As much as I wanted our well-deserved happy ending, I knew that it wouldn't be that easy. I wondered what the world was planning to throw at us next. I really had no idea, but I did know one thing.

We would be ready.

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><p><strong>Hmmm... he couldnt remember her at all... maybe a tiny bit <em>too<em> well timed? (oooh, i just hinted!)**

**So, remembering everything after he kissed Rose might not be the most medically correct, but i didnt want: 1, anybody going ninja on me and 2, to have Dimitri injured any longer than necessary :)**

**Soooo, next chapter, CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! WOO! it's already half finished, so it should be up soon:D**

**One last thing... some of you might have already noticed this on my profile, but im doing a sequel to this story! I know exactly what's going to happen, but i cant reveal anything just yet! I'm uber excited, gotta say! **

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter,**

**Annie x**


	13. Shopping

**Wow, this is a LONG chapter! 7,029 words! I think that's the second longest i've ever written! :D**

**Thanks to my reviewers: LMninja, JoJo110465, 3, lovingbites, Twilighternproud, Lock Ness Monster13, MegaDancingPrincess, Dimka's chick, VampireAngelRanger and VampireGirl1200 :D**

**I loved writing this chapter, it was so fun and festive! haha :D**

**Anyway, i dont really have anything to say in this author's note, so i'll save you my rambling and get on with the story :)**

**Annie x**

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><p>CROSSED WIRES 13 (RPOV)<p>

Two weeks had passed since Dimitri had been admitted to hospital. He'd been released after a few days of rigorous tests to check that the bleed really had been stopped this time. Life had gone back to normal for the most part; I'd gone back to being Lissa's guardian and, after a lot of rest, Dimitri had gone to look about a new assignment, preferably a Moroi who lived in Court. We'd received word yesterday that his new assignment was the man himself, Christian Ozera, who had apparently earned a guardian now for being linked to Lissa. She'd called for a celebration, and in typical Lissa style, we were going shopping today.

"Whoopee," I muttered through my toast – drenched with butter, just the way I liked it. Dimitri chuckled from where he was sitting across from me and downed his glass of milk in one go.

"Where's your Christmas spirit?" he asked with a small smile. Yeah, so, it wasn't just shopping, which was bad enough… it was Christmas shopping, which was infinitely worse. I was terrible at picking things for myself, never mind other people. Lissa had been thinking about gift ideas since the start of November, searching the internet and making lists. I still had no idea what I was getting anyone, not even her or Dimitri.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that you're looking forward to this?" I asked exasperatedly, eyebrows raised. I didn't think Dimitri was the Christmassy type.

"Well, this is our first Christmas as a couple," he countered.

"Fair enough," I replied reluctantly, rising from my seat and taking both of our plates to the sink. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas… just not the shopping aspect of it.

Dimitri left the small kitchen as I rinsed the dishes and came back with his toothbrush in his mouth. He stood in the doorway and watched me for a minute before speaking. "What time are we meeting Lissa?"

"In about an hour," I replied, drying my hands on a towel and throwing it behind me without turning round. Dimitri appeared beside me a second later, having caught it. We washed and dried in comfortable silence before splitting up to get ready. I headed to our bedroom to get dressed and Dimitri went to the bathroom to have a shower and finish brushing his teeth.

I rummaged through the closet for something festive to wear and settled on dark wash skinny jeans, a pair of lace up ankle boots, a plain cream sweater and a bright red mac that Lissa had picked out for me on our last shopping trip. Deciding that I looked seasonable, I jogged out to the coat stand by the door and grabbed a creamy-coloured scarf and beret style hat.

As I was doing my make-up, Dimitri entered the room with a towel wrapped round his waist. I had to look the other way just to concentrate, or I'd end up looking like a clown. He didn't seem to notice the effect he had on my heartbeat, and ambled around the room, picking up clothes and drying his hair.

"I dare you not to wear your duster today."

He stopped and looked at me. Just looked. "_Why_?"

"I don't know. Just to… mix it up a bit." I shrugged and turned back to the mirror. I could hear him getting dressed behind me, but didn't look round.

I kept my make-up neutral and took one look at my hair and decided to just leave it the way it was. I slipped my hat on and wrapped my scarf loosely around my neck before grabbing my bag and throwing my cell phone and purse into it.

Dimitri was waiting for me at the door, unintentionally giving me breathing problems. He was wearing dark jeans and a charcoal grey sweater with a white shirt underneath and his hair was tied back in a tidy ponytail.

"I feel naked without my duster," He grumbled, pushing the sleeves of the sweater up to his elbows to reveal tanned, muscled arms underneath.

"Don't worry, you're not… unfortunately." I grinned. Dimitri shook his head with a small smile and opened the door. I skipped out and pulled him along with me. He turned and locked the door, and then let me lead him out of the building.

Christian, Lissa, Adrian and surprisingly, Sydney, were waiting for us outside the Court mall. Lissa was holding a sheet of notebook paper in one hand and a pen in the other, which set off alarms in my head.

"I bet that's a schedule," I whispered to Dimitri as we walked closer. His eyes widened but he quickly composed himself as we stopped beside the group. Greetings were passed around by everyone except Lissa, who was staring at the sheet in her hands with her eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

"Okay, so, here's how we're going to work this. Its eleven o'clock now and I've split the day into three parts. Rose and Dimitri and Adrian and Sydney, you two can do your own shopping until one, and so will we. Then, we'll meet for lunch. At two, myself and Rose are going to go outfit shopping for Christmas Day, and I'd expect you guys to do the same." This earned the guys a you'd-better-be-listening glare, which Lissa excelled at. "Then at three, we'll meet up again and go shopping for presents. Got it?" she asked, looking at each of us in turn. What else could we say other than yes? When Lissa got like this, you just had to roll with it. "Well then, we'll see you at one," she said and, after giving us the name of the restaurant, left with Christian, Adrian and Sydney.

Dimitri squeezed my hand and led me into the mall, where hundreds of shoppers were bustling about, getting ready for Christmas. Fairy lights adorned every shop front and large silver snowflakes were hanging from the huge vaulted ceiling, glittering when they hit the light. A massive Christmas tree had been set up in the middle of the floor, complete with baubles and a star. Santa's grotto was situated over by the book store, with a line of little kids and their parents waiting to get in.

"Hey, what are the odds of Lissa finding out if we go home and just meet up with them at one?" I asked, fiddling with the belt on my coat. "It's not like we have any shopping to do."

"We don't?" Dimitri asked, raising an eyebrow. Without another word, he turned and led me deeper into the pandemonium, seeming confident of where he was going. He guided me into the huge department store and strolled through the aisles before he finally stopped, having found what he was looking for. I followed his gaze and hit my forehead when I realised how stupid I'd been to overlook something so important.

"A Christmas tree… of course," I murmured, shaking my head.

"And decorations," Dimitri added, sizing up the row of boxes, looking for a suitable tree.

"I've never put up Christmas decorations before," I mused. Dimitri shot me a knowing but sympathetic look. Much as I didn't want to admit it, it was true. The festive season at St. Vladimir's consisted of a tree in the cafeteria and spending Christmas Day messing around with your friends. I'd never had Christmas dinner at home with my family, or put up a tree, or bought presents for everyone. Christmas was usually like a normal day for me.

"We're going to make this Christmas extra special for you then," Dimitri replied, pulling a dark green box down off the shelf to take a closer look. He ran his finger up and down the text at the back as if he was looking for something specific but, after a minute, set it back on the shelf with a shake of his head.

"What's wrong with that one?" I asked.

"It's only six feet tall, and I'm six seven," he replied with a grin. I'd never even have thought to look at the height. I'd have just picked a nice one off the shelf and left.

Dimitri went back to looking for a while and picked another one off the shelf after a few minutes. After checking what I presumed was the height, he turned it round to me for confirmation. "Is this one okay?" he asked.

"Looks good. What height is it?"

He chuckled. "Seven feet."

I nodded and waited for Dimitri to heave the tree up onto his shoulder, and then we headed off down the aisle in search of other decorations.

Forty five minutes later, we were at the checkout with our tree, fairy lights, baubles, a star, a wreath and Christmas cards. I felt happier after buying it all, knowing that this Christmas might actually be a memorable one. It made it seem more real.

Instead of carting our purchases around with us, we dropped them off at the apartment and walked back down to the mall again, hand in hand. I didn't think we had anything else to get before meeting the others for lunch, but then I remembered that we had to get Dimitri's family presents.

"Any ideas?" I asked as we trailed past an antique shop. Dimitri shook his head.

"I honestly don't know," he replied with a grimace.

We trawled at least half the mall before we stopped outside a small book store. One of the books had caught Dimitri's eye.

"Of course…" he murmured, shaking his head. "Wait here." With that, he ran into the shop and started to scan the shelves. After a minute or two, he pulled a massive volume down off the top shelf that was about four times the size of a normal book. He paid for it and jogged back out to me.

"So…?" I began suggestively, trying to peek inside the bag. He pulled the massive hardback out and held it out to me. "A travel book?"

"Karolina has always loved travelling and she wanted to see the world one day. But then she had Paul…"

I nodded and slipped the book back in the bag. The meaning behind it was quite sad, but I knew Karolina loved Paul more than anything and that she wouldn't have it any other way.

"One down, five to go," I murmured, searching the crowded mall for something special. "This is going to be difficult."

It was. We spent our remaining hour of shopping time gradually finding suitable presents for each member of Dimitri's family. For Paul, who so wanted to be a guardian like his aunt and uncle, we got a plastic sword that closely resembled a stake and a Hot Wheels track that I thought looked pretty entertaining. For Olena, we bought a massive cookbook full of recipes from all over the world. We bought Viktoria a case full of make-up from the drug store, because she'd been complaining about how low she was running last time we'd been to Baia. For Sonya, who apparently played the piano, we bought some music books. That left Yeva, and it was one o'clock.

"Dimitri, let's face it, if we haven't found anything for her in the past hour, we aren't going to find anything now."

"I know, but—" his eyes widened as he stared at the polished linoleum floor, where his reflection was gazing up at him. But he wasn't looking at his reflection. He was looking behind it.

Slowly, he turned on his heel and walked back to the shop window beside us: the antique store where this ridiculous search had started. He beckoned me over to him and pointed to a beautiful silver necklace in the corner of the window display.

"Buy it," I said excitedly, guiding him to the door by the hand. He jogged up to the counter and enquired something before the old shop owner went to the window and gently lifted the necklace and set it in a box. Dimitri passed over some bills and left with a huge grin on his face.

I took the box from his hands and opened it slowly. Gleaming silver sat nestled in the fabric, catching the ugly, fluorescent light of the mall. A thick, slightly tarnished chain snaked around the top with a heavy pendant that resembled a locket hanging from the bottom. The casing was adorned with tiny flowers and leaves and there was a picture of something similar to a nazar engraved in the centre.

"Not to ruin the moment, but can we get lunch now?" I asked, closing the box and handing it back to Dimitri, who in turn put it in the bag. He chuckled and nodded before pointing to the café across the floor from us, where Lissa, Christian, Adrian and Sydney were probably waiting.

We walked hand in hand to the table they were sitting at, which was beside the window. Lissa, Christian and Adrian were sitting on one side of the booth and Sydney was sitting on the other side. I slid in beside her and towed Dimitri with me, greeting the rest of the group as I set my bags down and shrugged out of my coat.

"Get all your shopping done, Rosie?" Christian asked with a wink.

"Seeing as you're _so_ concerned, I'll answer your question without permanently damaging you. Yes, Sparky, I did get all my shopping done." I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What did you need to buy?" Lissa asked, elbowing Christian sharply in the gut. His breath left him in a sharp gasp and his cheeks started to turn pink. I stifled my laughter in Dimitri's shoulder before answering her.

"A Christmas tree, decorations, cards and presents for Dimitri's family," I told her. Excitement hummed through the bond when I mentioned Christmas. Lissa had had pretty much the same upbringing as me: celebrating at St. Vladimir's with friends. She couldn't wait for this year, when we could celebrate together as adults, instead of being crazy teenagers.

"Are you going to post those?" she asked, gesturing to the presents in the bags at our feet.

"I guess," I shrugged, "we haven't made any plans to visit Baia." Dimitri shifted his weight beside me. I looked up at him to see longing buried deep in his eyes. I knew he missed his family terribly, having been reunited with them so recently.

Just after I said this, the waiter strolled over to take our orders. We each rhymed off what we wanted to eat and then immediately immersed ourselves in the conversation again.

"So what did you guys get?" I asked.

"Same as you, really," Lissa replied. "A tree, decorations, cards… the usual."

"And you?"

"You tell them, Sage," Adrian said tiredly. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline at the nickname, but to my surprise, Sydney didn't seem phased by it. In fact, she was _smiling_.

"Seriously? You are actually the laziest guy I've ever met. First, you leave me to do all the shopping, and then you can't even find enough energy to tell Rose and the others about it?" she ranted, grinning. Adrian winked at her. "Is he always like this?" she asked, directing the question to us.

"Yep, all the time," Adrian drawled instead, chuckling.

Sydney shook her head and launched into the story of what they'd done before they met up with us. "Well, we spent an hour trawling through some very expensive stores looking for presents for Adrian's parents and his great-aunt. Then we went to pick a tree and some decorations for his apartment because he'd told me that he'd never bothered to before and, well, growing up with my father, I haven't either. I say we, but the day generally consisted of me being told what to buy for who and Adrian sneaking off to buy cigarettes," she told us, shooting Adrian a look that said _I know what you're up to_. She then took a sip of her water, which the waiter had just placed on the table. We stared at her, open-mouthed, as she caught Adrian's eye and grinned at him. It was the most I'd ever heard Sydney say at once, bar the times when she'd ranted about evil creatures of the night when we'd first met.

"Sounds like you had a good afternoon," I muttered, knocking back a massive gulp of my drink and shivering when it went down the wrong way. With a shake of my head, I tried to take control of myself. Was it really surprising that Sydney had fallen under Adrian's spell?

Yes, yes it was. She was the most no-nonsense, go-getter, romantically blind person I'd ever met. She and Adrian were so horribly wrong for each other—

Or were they?

Everyone turned to stare at me. Guess I said that out loud. Oops.

"So, are you coming outfit shopping with us?" I asked casually, playing with my hands under the table. Dimitri wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him as Sydney thought of an answer.

Finally, she shook her head. "I can't; I have alchemist business to attend to. They think I'm doing a research project in Harrisburg."

Sydney? _Sneaky_? What had Adrian done to her?

The food arrived, reminding me of an invitation I'd like to extend to everyone. It was hard to concentrate with the smell of my lasagne drifting past my nose, but I managed to put my thoughts in order long enough to tell everyone my plan.

"Do you guys want to come over for Christmas dinner with us this year?" I asked, making a face at my next words. "I'm inviting mom and dad too."

"We'd love to!" Lissa cried with a grin. I knew by her emotions that she was picturing it: the perfect Christmas with friends.

"We're in, right, Sage?" Adrian asked, looking across the table at Sydney, who shrugged.

"If I'm still here, then sure," she agreed, digging into her salad. Taking this as a cue, everyone else dug into their food, and we ate in silence.

"That was the best lasagne I've ever tasted," I groaned, rubbing my (miraculously) flat stomach as Lissa dragged me outside and towards one of the most expensive dress shops in the whole of Court.

"I got them to set aside some dresses for us in specific colours," she explained.

"Liss, it's not the colour I'm worried about… it's the price."

She shook her head as if to invalidate my comment and pushed open the heavy glass door into one of the fanciest boutiques I've ever seen. A member of staff was on us the second we walked in to ask if we needed any help, and Lissa told her that we had dresses reserved under 'Dragomir'. On hearing this, the woman bowed her head and led us into a massive dressing room at the back of the store which was full of dresses. Lissa thanked her and she left again, while I stood open-mouthed during the whole thing.

"Wow," I murmured, lightly running my fingers along the rail of dresses against the wall.

Lissa checked her watch and then switched her gaze to me. "We have one hour. Let's do some hardcore shopping."

"You mean trying on," I corrected. She laughed and pawed through the overflowing rail for something that suited her. I mirrored her, taking out anything that wouldn't look good on me.

Fifteen minutes later and we'd narrowed it down to two dresses each. Mine were black and gold, and figure-hugging. Lissa's were quite billowy and girly, in ice blue and white. Neither of us could pick between them, so we decided to try them on.

"Can you zip me up?" I asked, holding the ends of the gold dress together so that the zip wouldn't catch. Lissa fastened it right to the top and spun us round to the mirror. Her dress was blinding white, with a halter neck and a billowy skirt that just touched the top of her knee. The material was ruffled and gave off the feel of a summer dress.

"What do you think?" she asked unsurely.

I screwed up my face and shook my head. "It's nice, but not for Christmas."

"Duly noted," she replied with a smile, appraising my outfit. The dress I was wearing reached my mid-thigh and was held up by thick straps that were the same style as the rest of the dress: gold sequins. Now that I had it on, I realised that it looked more like a clubbing outfit than a family get-together outfit. The look on Lissa's face confirmed this.

"Take two," I sighed, pulling down the zipper and reaching for the other dress.

These were the ones. We stood in front of the mirror and just looked at ourselves for a moment. They were perfect.

Lissa's dress was made of sheer material that tied around her neck and pulled in at her waist before flowing down to her knees like a glistening waterfall. The skirt had several uneven layers that hung down around her and reminded me of the head of a flower turned upside down. It suited her shape perfectly, flaunting her skinny figure instead of trying to mask it.

My dress was the exact opposite of hers. It was black, and backless. It was almost knee-length, and it hugged my figure all the way down. The front was plain, with a sweetheart neckline and a thick black band that wound around my waist and pulled the dress in. A quick spin revealed that it was backless from my shoulders right down to my lower back, but instead of looking like a stripper, it just added to the sophistication of the dress.

"I think we've found them," I said with a huge grin. Lissa nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what the guys are wearing for Christmas…" she replied thoughtfully.

I snickered, held up our two dresses and affected a brain-dead face, like I didn't know what to do with them. Lissa giggled uncontrollably, and I couldn't help but join in. When we'd gained control of ourselves, I pulled my dress off and my jumper on. I had my jeans, socks, boots, hat and coat on in record time, and then I played with my scarf until Lissa was ready.

"I'll pay for these… my treat. You go and look around," she instructed with a smile. I opened my mouth to argue, but she was already gone.

With a sigh, I stepped out of the room and began to wander around the huge boutique with absolutely no idea of where I was going. I ran my hands over the dresses as I walked, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when the checkout – and Lissa – came into view. She was just turning away with two shopping bags, and waved when she caught sight of me. I wrapped my scarf around my neck and went to meet her halfway.

"Where to now?" I asked, linking arms with her.

"I don't know. We still have a half hour until we're meant to meet the boys."

"Well, we could look around some more, or go for a coffee or—" Lissa had been tugging my sleeve as I said this, but I didn't look at her. I was too busy rhyming off all the things we could do.

"Start our present shopping or text the guys and meet up early or—"

"Rose!" Lissa whispered excitedly. "Look!"

Not knowing what I'd find, I turned. And almost stopped breathing. We'd found the bridal department. Several huge white dresses were positioned in the window, along with veils, tiaras, bouquets, gloves, shoes… everything you could possibly wear on your wedding day.

We turned to look at each other, squealing. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to look at wedding dresses with my best friend.

"One little look wouldn't hurt, would it?" Lissa asked beseechingly. I took one look at her huge, pleading green eyes and nodded excitedly.

"Let's go," I answered with a grin. She squealed and hugged me tightly.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she cried, tugging me toward the store by my sleeve.

An assistant met us at the door. "Good afternoon, ladies. Are you looking for anything in particular today?"

I had to hold back a snort. What were we looking for? We were standing in the middle of a bridal boutique, for god's sake! What else would we be looking for? I decided not to share my rant with the two other women in the store with me, so I just kept my mouth shut.

Lissa handled the situation slightly differently. She answered in a regal, polite tone that no-one else could manage quite as well as she could. "Well, we don't have much time to spend, but we'd like to look at some wedding dresses please,"

The assistant nodded and turned, leading us deeper into the shop. "May I ask which of you is getting married?" she asked over her shoulder.

"I am," I answered her, shooting Lissa a huge grin. I still couldn't quite swallow the fact that I was marrying Dimitri, who was seven years my senior, my former mentor, and the most perfect guy in existence.

"Congratulations," she said on reflex. She probably said that to every bride-to-be that walked in the door. "Feel free to look around and call me if you need anything. You can use that dressing room."

She pointed to a white door that was slightly ajar. Inside, it looked like a white cube. White walls and ceiling. White tile floor. A white closet against one wall. A white clothing rail against the other. Plush white satin stools dotted haphazardly around the room. A massive mirror with a white frame. White everywhere. It was disorientating.

We headed back into the main body of the store, looking at every dress as we passed. Some were beautiful, with flowing skirts, beaded bodices and intricate needlework. These were the ones that we picked up to take back to the dressing room. Others were horrible – you'd have to be possessed to wear them, especially on your wedding day. They had meringue skirts, massive cap-sleeves and, sometimes, came in very gaudy colours. We steered clear of these, though we did have a giggle at them first.

After we'd picked about five dresses – as many as we could carry between us, thanks to their bulk – we headed back to the dressing room, getting more and more excited with every step.

Lissa hung the dresses up on the railing as I stripped down to my underwear. She passed me the first one when I held out my hand, and helped me get zipped into it.

"Rose…" she whispered.

The dress had a fitted bodice and a big, poofy skirt that made me feel like a princess. It had a straight neckline and tiny clear beads decorating the waistline. It was beautiful, but not perfect.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Something's not quite right about it."

Lissa nodded. "I know."

I sighed as she unzipped it. "How much time do we have?"

"Twenty minutes."

I sighed again. "I'll try on two or three more… quickly."

We worked at top speed, trying to fit three more fittings into the twenty minutes we had. All three dresses were beautiful, but nothing _amazing_. Nothing that really made me go _wow_. On mine and Dimitri's wedding day, I wanted to look absolutely perfect. If that meant giving up a _beautiful_ dress for a _gorgeous_ one and having to search a bit harder for it, then so be it.

The second dress I tried on was the opposite of the first. It clung to my waist, hips and thighs and flared out from the knees down. Halter straps held the dress up, and were adorned with beads of different sizes and shades of white. They spread down to the waistline, making pretty patterns that glinted when I spun round. It was still missing something though.

The third dress was horrible on. It had long sleeves and a square neckline, with no beads or a ribbon. It fell down to my feet in a straight line, instantly masking my curves. I almost ripped it off, it was so terrible.

The fourth and final dress was my favourite out of them all, but it still wasn't perfect. It, too, had a square neckline, but it also had a bow tied at the waist and a wide skirt. The front of the bodice was decorated with a ribbon that criss-crossed through loopholes on either side – like dresses from medieval times. The ribbon then wrapped around the back of the bodice into a bow. The ends of the elbow length sleeves – again reminding me of a medieval ball gown – had been decorated with ribbon also. I loved it, but it wasn't very eye-catching. It wouldn't make Dimitri do a double-take when I showed up to marry him.

Although I still had one dress to try on, we had to leave because of the time. I reluctantly set it back on the rail; it had been my favourite to begin with, but I'd saved it for last.

The boys were waiting for us outside the restaurant, bags in hand. I waved to Dimitri, who smiled back and kissed my forehead in greeting when I was close enough to him.

"Find what you were looking for?" he asked, gesturing to the shopping bag. I grinned and nodded, trying to see inside his.

"Nu-uh," he told me, shaking his head with a chuckle. "You'll have to wait until Christmas."

I pouted and tried to peek again. Dimitri slapped my hand away.

"I'm warning you," he reprimanded playfully. I was about to retort, but Lissa decided it was now time to immerse ourselves back into the chaos of Christmas shopping.

We split up, everyone going into a different store. I still didn't know what I was getting anyone, so I ambled around uselessly until I thought of something.

I tried to make a list on the back of an old receipt, but my mind had drawn a blank.

Then an idea hit me like a brick to the side of the head as I passed a huge jewellery store. There in the window, a gleaming silver charm bracelet sat nestled in a bed of jade green fabric – a colour that matched the beads almost exactly. I drew closer, wondering what the charms were. That's when I saw the note on the lid of the box.

_Bracelet + five charms = $80_

_Additional charms = $5 each_

So you could _pick_ the charms to put on the bracelet. I hurried inside, ignoring the bell that rang above the door as I opened it. The shop owner was standing behind the counter, gift-wrapping something for a customer. I waited patiently for the woman to leave before stepping up to the counter myself.

"How may I help you?" the owner asked politely. He was about fifty, I'd guess, with greying hair and friendly blue eyes.

"I'd like to buy the charm bracelet in the window please… the green one," I added when I saw his confused expression.

"Ah yes," he said, eyes alight with understanding. "Let me just go and get that for you."

I waited patiently for the kind man to return with the bracelet, looking at the other pieces of jewellery to pass the time. A gold ring and bracelet set in the display cabinet caught my eye. It was for a man; a plain gold band that looked like a wedding ring and a simple, thick gold chain.

I could get Dimitri his wedding ring for Christmas. Was that allowed? Or was it stingy? I just had no idea what else to get him.

The owner chose this moment to return to the room, equipped with the bracelet and a square cut-out of wood. He turned it round and set it on the counter in front of me; I could now she that it was a display of charms.

"Pick five of those, and I'll get this boxed up. Would you like it gift-wrapped?" he asked.

I shrugged. Less work for me. "Sure. Thanks."

While he was gone, I selected the five charms that reminded me of Lissa: a little red heart that said 'best friends', a crown, a pair of angel wings, a star that was engraved with the word 'sisters', and the letter 'L'. I set them on the counter carefully and waited for the man to re-appear.

Seconds later, he did. Without a word, he attached the charms to the bracelet and shut the small, square jewellery box it was in carefully. As he wrapped it, I decided to enquire about the other jewellery.

"Would you mind telling me the price of these?" I asked politely, pointing to the ring and bracelet I'd been looking at earlier.

He looked up from the wrapping paper. "That," he reached over and looked at the price label on the box, "is $343."

Reasonable enough for a decent wedding ring _and_ a nice bracelet. "I'll take that as well."

He reached down and scooped the box up. After a second, he turned it to me.

"Is this alright for—?"

I narrowed my eyes as I looked closer. There was something written around the inside of the ring. "Is that an engraving?"

"Yes," he replied, looking at me like his answer was incredibly obvious. I looked back at the box and now noticed that it said 'engraved ring and bracelet set'. I hadn't thought to read it before.

"May I?" I asked, pointing to the ring. The owner nodded. I took the ring out of its box carefully and rotated it, reading the delicate script inside.

_My heart, my soul, my everything._

"I'll take it," I repeated, setting it back inside its box.

"Would you like it gift-wrapped, too?" he asked.

I nodded. "Please."

We chatted as he finished wrapping up the boxes, and then he revealed the grand total of my purchases.

"That's $428, please."

Reluctantly, I passed him a wad of cash. Thankfully, I'd thought to visit an ATM this morning. I thanked him and left with my bag, feeling immensely happy with myself.

_Two down, four to go, _I thought to myself.

In the next hour, I found and bought the perfect presents for both mom and Christian.

For mom, I bought a stake. But not just any old stake; an engraved one. I'd thought long and hard about what to get written on it, seeing as it was a kind of truce between us. I had finally decided on the perfect phrase that I'd seen in the newspaper the other week. I was kind of long, but I didn't care. I couldn't _not_ put it on.

_Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending._

It might seem strange to some that I'd got the message engraved on a stake of all things. I could've got it embroidered on a tablecloth, or engraved on a pen, or sewn into a cushion, but none of those would mean anything to my mom. Guarding was her life and, until now, she hadn't even had a permanent home that wasn't at the Szelsky's, so a tablecloth would mean nothing to her. But the stake would mean everything. It represented who we were, everything we were proud of and, finally, what we had in common. It represented a truce, a peace offering. After Christmas, we would put our differences behind us and move on.

I felt quite profound for picking such a symbolic present under pressure, but then I realised that I still had three presents to get, and set off again.

I bought Christian aftershave – because I had no idea what else to buy – and fire-print boxers. I couldn't help myself; I saw them and immediately thought of him.

When I eventually got round to buying Adrian's present, it took me a half hour to find something decent. As a joke, I bought him a book called 'Your Body is a Temple', which had pictures of a cigarette and a beer bottle on the front, but they were crossed out. Adrian would just _love_ that.

I thought long and hard about what else to get him. What to buy a man who had everything?

I was walking past a photo booth when I got the idea. I hurried back to the huge furniture shop at the far end of the mall and headed straight for the array of photo frames hanging on the back wall. It took me a good ten minutes to look them all over and decide which one I wanted.

I finally decided on a massive frame that I knew he would love. It was made from scrap metal, with lots of patches of different materials in a range of colours and sizes. It was pretty expensive, but I didn't mind. And I knew the perfect picture to put in it too.

As I headed for the checkout, I pondered what to get my old man. It was another case of the man who had everything… and he was so damn mysterious I wouldn't know anyway. The only thing I could think of that he might want was to have the first seventeen years of my life back. He'd taken me aside one day and told me that, although he hadn't been there to see me grow up, he loved me so much and maybe one day he'd tell me why he'd been absent for so long. He told me that he'd love to be able to relive those seventeen years.

And then I saw it. An impressive looking photo album that resembled an old book, complete with a leather cover and a tarnished lock. I picked it up immediately and brought it to the checkout. I lost another hundred dollars or so in there, but I was so happy I didn't even care.

I sat on the bench outside the café with my purchases and sent a text to everyone.

_Got all my prezzies. Should I wait or go home? R_

I received two replies almost instantaneously from Lissa and Dimitri.

_On my way over now. L_

_Give me 10 mins. Need to check something. D x_

Lissa appeared minutes later, slowed down by the massive bags she was carrying. She collapsed on the bench beside me with a satisfied smile, just as my phone buzzed again.

_Be there in 5. C_

"Christian should be here in a few minutes and Dimitri's coming in about ten. He says he has to check something," I informed Lissa, pocketing my phone. Adrian had probably gone on home to keep Sydney company.

She nodded and gestured to my bags. "Get everything you needed?" she asked.

"Yup. I need to pick up a few other things tomorrow though. What about you?" I made a mental list as I spoke. I could pick up the stake tomorrow and, if I left Adrian's picture in for enlargement tonight, I could pick that up too. I also needed to go and see mom and dad about coming over for Christmas dinner and talk to mom about getting some photos for the photo album.

"Yeah, I think I've outdone myself this year. I'm getting more and more over-organised every year," she giggled.

"You can say that again. I'm getting more and more _dis_organised," I replied.

Lissa laughed at the truth of my statement just as Christian appeared at her shoulder.

"What about you, Sparky?" I called, gesturing to the growing pile of shopping bags on the floor in front of us. He opened his mouth to answer but I held my hand up; my phone had just vibrated. Another text had come through from Adrian.

_Sorry, went home. Keeping Sage company. Don't miss me too much :) __A_

"Clown…" I muttered, shaking my head, though I was grinning. Christian was staring at me like I'd completely lost it.

I quickly text Adrian back.

_Life's just unbearable without you. Can't stand it. R_

Ten seconds later, I received this:

_What about your russian? A_

_Oh yeah. My mistake ;) R_

_Not cool :( A_

I laughed and decided to pass the news of Adrian's absence on to Lissa and Christian.

"Adrian's gone home to keep Sydney company." I rolled my eyes. "Apparently she's his latest conquest."

"I think it's cute," Lissa replied, pointing behind me. "There's Dimitri."

I looked over my shoulder and, sure enough, Dimitri was striding toward us, arms laden with bags. He dropped them beside us and slid onto the arm of the bench beside me.

I quickly took out my phone and sent one last message to Adrian.

_You'll get over it. You've got Sage ;) R _

"Ready to go?" I asked, taking my share of shopping bags off the floor. Everyone copied, and we staggered out of the mall, where it had just begun to snow.

We said goodbye to Lissa and Christian when the time came, and slowly made our way up to the apartment. I dropped my bags at the door along with our earlier purchases and turned to leave again.

"I'm going to see mom and dad. I'll be back soon," I called into the kitchen, where Dimitri was putting the kettle on – no doubt for a cup of coffee.

"Want me to come with you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "It's fine. I need to do this alone."

He looked at me for a moment before crossing the tiny kitchen and pulling me into his arms. He knew this was the first time I'd seen mom since our massive argument a few weeks ago.

"I'll be okay. Everything's going to be okay," he whispered soothingly, rubbing my back.

"I'll see you later," I replied quietly, standing on tiptoes to kiss him quickly.

I turned without another word and left the apartment, knowing that the next few hours would either make or break my Christmas.

* * *

><p><strong>So, next chapter is gonna skip to christmas day... and boy is that gonna be a LONG chapter!<strong>

**This is going to be Rose and Lissa's dream Christmas, but i can't guarantee that everything will run smoothly afterwards ;D hint hint!**

**Next update will be on Christmas Day... I promise! The 'situation' with Rose will be cleared up in the next chapter too :D**

**One last thing: the number of reviews ive been getting is decreasing... I hate doing this, but im not updating unless i get at least FIFTEEN reviews, kay?**

**Annie x**


	14. Christmas

**Gahh! I'm a terrible person! I never update when I say I will! Anyway, i apologise profusely for not updating on Christmas Day like i said I would... but i have a perfectly good excuse... two, actually ;)**

**1. Well, it was christmas, so i probably got some presents... i got 17 books in total, so i've been a bit occupied reading! I finished the first Mortal Instruments book yesterday morning, so i got straight down to writing this afterwards!**

**2. Have you seen the LENGTH of this chapter? It's my longest ever by six pages. SIX! This chapter is about 12,800 words, which equals 22 pages on Word! I couldnt believe it! So, yeah, it took me this long to finish it... I stayed up to five o'clock this morning writing it, then slept for four hours, then kept writing up until now, and i finally finished it! Whoopee! XD**

**MASSIVE thank you**** to my reviewers: JoJo110465, Lucy, LMninja, Twilighternproud, rosie posie, Ramie Ivashkov, Crazy4Darcy, Lock Ness Monster13, Kate, XXXbiggestfanXXX, Ari93, Skylar Hope, olivia williams, kittenxxkisses, lovingbites and SirenTheSpazz! Yess, lots of reviews! :D**

**So, lots of surprises in the chapter... two for Lissa and Christian and two for Rose... and it isnt the perfect fairytale christmas i was expecting... there's quite a lot of dimitri-adrian-rose drama to do with the whole children thing, which sets the scene nicely for-**

**Well, you'll have to read it ;)**

**Anyway, I hope everyone had an awesome christmas and i'd like to dedicate this chapter to SirenTheSpazz because her reviews made me laugh XD**

**Annie x**

* * *

><p>CHAPTER 14<p>

"This is going to be the best Christmas ever," I sighed to Lissa, who was lying on the couch with me. We were at either end of the three-seater with our pyjamas on because today was our day off.

Considering the fact that neither of us could cook, our far more capable other halves had stepped in and saved us from the perils of Christmas dinner. I could hear them banging about in the kitchen, pots and trays clattering against counter tops and oil snapping and crackling on hot pans. Earlier, Lissa had put on a Christmas CD to keep them company in there, but they were making such a din that we couldn't even hear it.

The Christmas tree had been switched on at the crack of dawn this morning – in other words, when I woke up. It was standing in the corner of the sitting room in all its seven foot glory, the star on top gleaming. We'd draped it in colourful lights to match the eccentricity of the baubles, which were every colour, size and shape known to man. Somehow, it worked. The tree had a certain endearing quality about it. The presents were all wrapped up and stacked underneath it – we'd done the math, there should've been about forty-two, unless someone had doubled up. I couldn't wait to exchange presents, but I knew that I'd have to wait until dinner was cooked and we were all dressed… and everyone was here, of course. The window was framed with all our Christmas cards, which we'd taped up in a kind of wreath around the frame. Beyond that, you could just about see tiny, delicate snowflakes floating past the glass. The snowstorm had been going since yesterday, and the road outside was now wrapped in a fluffy white blanket of snow – about six inches.

"I suppose we'd better go see how the two chefs are doing," I decided with a wink. We hauled ourselves off the couch and skipped arm in arm into the kitchen, where one of the guys was focused and quiet, though he was smiling at the other one, who was singing Frosty the Snowman into a wooden spoon. For some reason, this didn't surprise me.

"So that's what that noise was," I muttered, shaking my head. Christian stopped abruptly when he noticed us and hid the spoon behind his back.

"Hey," he squeaked, turning back to his pan and stirring vigorously.

Lissa just laughed and leaned against the counter beside him. I took up a similar position against the wall, but my eyes were on Dimitri. He was making what looked like pancakes, judging by the colour of the batter. I watched his muscles flexing as he whisked it and then tipped it into the pan. The look of complete concentration on his face reminded me of how he used to look in training when we sparred – eyebrows slanted down over focused, unwavering eyes with a little v-shaped frown line in the middle of his forehead. The only thing missing was the hard set of his mouth, which was now curled into a small smile.

He stepped back from the hob suddenly, bursting my reminiscent little bubble and bringing me back to reality. I watched as his arm flexed back and brought the pan forward, flipping the pancake high in the air. As it left the hot surface, Dimitri turned to me with a grin. What he didn't know was that he'd flipped the pan too far back, and the pancake wasn't going to land correctly… it was going to hit him.

"Dimitri, look out!" I cried, gasping through my laughter. Lissa and Christian turned to see what the commotion was about, and joined in with my laughter as they watched the slow motion scene unfold before us.

Dimitri had a look of mock-horror on his face as he watched the pancake turning over and over above his head. I was wondering how he would get out of this one, laughing harder when I realised he couldn't.

Why did I even think that? He's Dimitri, of course he could.

Fast as lightning, he ducked and rolled to one side, coming up on his knees again. Just before the pancake hit the floor, he slid the pan underneath it, catching it neatly in the centre.

Lissa and Christian were staring at him, open-mouthed. I snorted. "Bit much for a pancake, don't you think?"

"Just showing off," he chuckled, sliding the pancake onto a plate before pouring more batter on the pan. "If you can't do it at Christmas, then when can you?" he asked, laughing outright.

I shook my head, grinning. "I still can't believe you used the 'duck and roll'… for a pancake." I'd been about to add, _'that's one to tell the grandchildren'_, but bit it back when I realised what I was saying. My smile dropped, my eyes filling with unwelcome moisture as I dropped my gaze and walked out of the room.

"I'll be right back," I called numbly, ambling clumsily into the hallway, where another CD was playing. Thankfully, no Frosty the Snowman out here; I wasn't in the mood for that. I didn't know the song that was playing, but I found myself listening to the lyrics as I slid down the wall to the floor.

_A spaceman came travelling, on his ship, from afar._

'_Twas light-years of time, since his mission did start._

_And over a village, he halted his craft._

_And it hung in the sky, like a star._

_Just like a star._

_He followed a light and came down to a shed,_

_Where a mother and child were lying there on a bed—_

A strange, strangled moan sounded as I yanked the stereo's plug out with unnecessary force. It took me a few minutes to realise that it was my own.

And then it took me a few more to realise that Dimitri was standing in the kitchen doorway, watching me. Without a word, he crouched beside me, slipped his arms under me and cradled me to his chest. He carried me to our room and laid me gently on the bed.

"Roza? Is something wrong?" he asked, a firm edge to his voice that I couldn't understand.

"N-no," I answered, rising into a sitting position. Dimitri pushed me back down carefully and held my wrists to the bed.

"I'm not letting you leave until you tell me what it is. I will _not_ let you ruin this Christmas for yourself," he whispered. I now understood the firmness. He was worrying about me, as usual.

Could I really spoil this day for him by telling him? "I… was thinking about Dhampir infertility again," I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. "But I'm fine now."

"Are you sure?" he asked, a sharp jolt of pain flashing through his eyes. I nodded and let him pull me up and back to the kitchen. Lissa and Christian both looked up – and both looked concerned, surprisingly – when we re-entered the room. I waved them off and went to stand uselessly by the fridge.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked as Lissa passed the pan and spatula back to Dimitri, who continued to make breakfast.

"I've got the turkey and ham in the oven, and the vegetables and sausages are prepped and ready to go in later. I'm making stuffing now. Dimitri's making pancakes, and then he's going to move on to starters… some kind of Russian soup," Christian trailed off, scratching his head and getting breadcrumbs caught in his hair.

"Borsch," I supplied, remembering the vivid red soup from my time in Russia.

"That's it," he replied with a satisfied smile.

"So, who's making dessert?" I asked. Surely they hadn't forgotten with me in the house?

Christian turned to look at me completely. "I was kind of hoping you two would…" he hinted, jerking his head toward the pantry. I exchanged an excited look with Lissa and kicked the door open in my hurry to get in. She, being the more organised one, started picking essentials off the countertop, gathering them all in a pile. I was so happy to get control of dessert that I couldn't even think straight.

"There's already Christmas pudding there, but we could make a cake as well, if you like," Lissa suggested, thinking out loud. I stared at the ingredients on the counter: flour, eggs, sugar and butter, and added one of my own from the cupboard above me. Cocoa powder.

"A chocolate cake?" I pleaded with a grin. Lissa nodded and carried the ingredients out to the kitchen while I followed, empty-handed.

Dimitri raised his eyebrow questioningly and grinned. "Chocolate cake? I suppose Rose picked that?" he asked, his eyes never leaving mine.

"But of course, comrade," I replied with a wink.

He shook his head and turned back to the pancakes. "Good luck trying to cook with her, Lissa. She's bound to make a mess."

I did.

I mean, cake is the simplest of simple recipes. You pour all the ingredients in the bowl and stir. We – mostly me – did that as carefully as we could; sieving and separating ingredients where necessary, of course, but we still managed to make a complete mess. After we put the tin in the oven, we took a look at ourselves and the disaster zone in the kitchen to gauge how big a clean-up job we had.

Yeah, we'd have been there all day if Dimitri hadn't stepped in to help – after we had our pancakes.

"Breakfast," he called from our little dining room. At the clanking sound of plates hitting off one another, I dropped the dishes I was washing back into the sink and rallied into the other room with the smell of pancakes guiding me. Lissa was trying to stack the dishes in a tidy pile on the counter, but finally gave up and let her stomach lead her into the dining room behind me.

A massive plate of stacked pancakes sat in the middle of the table. The scent emanating from them was mouth-watering. I quickly took my seat beside Dimitri and lifted a large pile off the top of the stack and onto my plate.

"The very reason why I made so many," he muttered, gesturing to my food and taking a much more reasonable pile of pancakes for himself.

"It's not my fault I have a healthy appetite, comrade," I argued.

"Healthy?" Christian squeaked, watching with wide eyes as I stuffed a whole pancake into my mouth at once. Who knew I was so hungry?

I grinned at him, my mouth full of pancake. I don't think it was a very pretty sight, judging by the way Lissa, Christian and Dimitri all recoiled.

"What?" I mumbled through the mush in my mouth, trying not to laugh. That would result in a pretty disgusting explosion.

"Nothing," they mumbled, going back to their food. I swallowed painfully, trying to dislodge the lump of pancake and maple syrup stuck in my throat.

I ate my pancakes the quickest, even though I had twice as many as everyone else. Lissa couldn't eat all of hers, so I finished those off too, to the astonishment of everyone sitting at the table. I shrugged them off and finished eating.

Lissa and Dimitri cleared the plates, Christian went to check on his precious turkey, and I went to take the cake out because, as Lissa had pointed out, you could smell it, so it must be done.

I burned my hands through the towel I was using to get the tray out, but it was worth it. I'd caught the cake just in time; any longer in the oven and it would have burned. It was perfect, despite the mess we'd made preparing it.

I set it on the counter to cool and grabbed a washcloth from the sink, where Lissa and Dimitri were washing and drying the dishes. I wiped up all the spillages on the countertop and down the sides of the cupboards in record time, and then proceeded to put all the ingredients away and give the rest of the equipment to Lissa for her to wash.

I checked the clock on the wall out of curiosity. It had just gone half past nine, and we were expecting mom, dad and Adrian at eleven. Lissa was sitting at the table beside me, having just finished the dishes, and Dimitri was engrossed in making borsch. Christian was preparing vegetables and suchlike to go into the bottom oven, while the turkey still roasted in the top.

"I suppose we'd better get dressed," I suggested, standing up. Lissa shook her head.

"Not just yet. I'm not letting you near that cake with your dress on. We'll decorate it now, and then get dressed," Lissa directed, handing me a box of icing sugar.

I took it over to the cake, which I'd set on a plate earlier.

"I'm not going to make a mess, you know," I declared confidently, opening the box. I grabbed a spoon and dipped it slowly and carefully into the icing sugar. Inch by inch, I lifted the heaped tablespoon up and over the cake.

"See?" I said with a grin.

That's when my nose started to tickle. I could feel the whole kitchen's eyes on me as I sniffed and struggled as my nose twitched.

"Lissa, take the spoon away from Rose. Quickly," Dimitri said calmly, eyes never leaving the spoon. Lissa reached out with her hand, ready to take it from me.

But I sneezed. I think it was the biggest, most earth-shattering sneeze I've ever done. I watched with horror as the icing sugar left the spoon and puffed upwards in a massive cloud, coating my face and hair, powdering the freshly-cleaned counter tops and dusting the floor like snow. It went everywhere _but_ on the cake.

"God damnit!" I yelled, throwing the spoon back into the box. A beat of dead silence passed, and then everyone started laughing. I assumed I looked a state.

"Rose… go take… a shower. I'll… finish this and… clean up," Lissa gasped, clutching her stomach with one hand and a cloth with the other.

I left the room and headed for the mirror in the hallway. I looked worse than I expected. My face was white and powdery, like I was wearing face paint, and my hair was tangled and looked like there was baby powder through it. I sighed and headed for the bathroom, looking forward for a hot, relaxing shower.

The icing sugar wasn't as difficult to get out of my hair as I'd first thought. It was like chalk; it just rinsed right out in powdery white rivulets. I stayed in the shower longer than necessary, loosening my muscles and calming down in a way that could only occur under hot water.

I stepped out of the shower and grabbed two of the massive fluffy towels hanging on the rail. I wrapped one around my body as quickly as I was able, shielding myself from the cold morning air, and twisted my hair in the other one. As I left the bathroom, I wondered whether I should get dressed. My question was answered when I walked into mine and Dimitri's room and found Lissa doing her make-up.

I grabbed my outfit and headed behind the ornamental screen in the corner of the room to get changed. I loved my dress as much as I had that first day I'd tried it on when we'd gone shopping two weeks ago. It just seemed like the perfect outfit for an occasion like Christmas.

I'd been on another shopping trip with Lissa about a week ago to get some 'essentials', as she put it. We'd come home with shoes, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, belts… anything you would ever need to accessorise an outfit.

At the time, the additional shopping trip had seemed unnecessary. Surely I had a pair of shoes at home that would match my dress without having to go out and buy more? Now, I was grateful as I pulled on my heels: royal blue stilettos that gave me a six inch height bonus.

I fitted on a thick, glossy belt that matched the colour of the shoes. I finished the outfit with a simple silver necklace and earrings, and stepped out from behind the screen.

Lissa gaped at me. "Wow… Rose, you look amazing. And you haven't even got your hair and make-up done!"

"You do, too," I told her, gesturing to her flat-ironed hair, perfect manicure and angelic make-up. "You always do."

She shook her head, like I was talking nonsense, and turned back to the mirror. I joined her, switching on my curling wand before taking a seat on the floor to do my make-up.

I kept my make-up neutral except for my eyes. They were dark, smoky and bold. The grey eye shadow I used brought out tiny golden flecks in my irises and made my eyes look like they were bright and shining, not dull and murky.

By this time, the curlers had heated up, and Lissa was ready. I envied her perfection; I would always look scruffy beside her, no matter what.

A frown found its way to my lips as I began to curl my mostly-dry hair into delicate ringlets. It really was silly to compare me with Lissa because we were so different, but I didn't care. I couldn't help it. Having a best friend who is perfect in every way isn't exactly good for one's self-confidence.

I shoved all jealous thoughts to the back of my mind and concentrated on my hair. It wasn't exactly a difficult task, but it kept my thoughts occupied until it was time for us to take over kitchen duty from the guys. They needed to get dressed too, after all.

I was scared of messing everything up. They'd been working on the food all morning and now they were leaving me to baby-sit it. Never a good idea. My job was to stir the borsch, while Lissa was setting the table. After my string of unfortunate mishaps this morning, I felt like asking her if she wanted to swap roles, but held back.

_I'm stirring soup, what could go wrong?_

Thankfully, nothing did. Christian and Dimitri re-entered the room – in that order – at ten forty-five, looking amazing.

Yes, even Christian had dressed up. He was wearing his typical black. White shirt, black skinny tie, black trousers, black jacket. It set off his eyes, the lone splash of colour in his outfit.

Then Dimitri walked in. I swear, I almost melted on the spot. He was wearing a pair of light, almost silvery-grey trousers and a matching waistcoat which had been buttoned up. Underneath it, he wore a plain white button-down shirt which was rolled up to the elbows, as usual, to reveal those strong, tanned arms of his. A midnight blue tie that wasn't too far away from the colour of my shoes was knotted neatly around his neck and tucked behind his waistcoat. He had left his hair hanging down around his face, causing faint shadows to skitter over his cheekbones when he turned away from the light. My gaze finally met his. His warm, brown eyes were bright and excited and his lips had curled up into a smile when he'd noticed me checking him out.

And then I noticed that _he'd_ been checking _me_ out, too. His quick eyes, eyes that missed nothing, roved up and down my body, taking in every millimetre. Satisfied with what he saw, he crossed the room in three long strides.

"You look… breathtaking," he whispered, pulling me into his arms and kissing my hair.

"So do you, comrade," I teased, straightening his tie, though his comment made me blush. He flashed a grin before casting a glance toward the soup.

"Everything okay over there?" he asked, eyebrow raised. He was probably preparing himself for the worst.

"Fine," I replied. Just then, someone knocked the front door. "I'll get it."

Mom and dad were standing outside in the hallway, one looking seasonably cheerful, and the other awkward, and rightly so.

"Hello Rose," dad greeted me, breaking the awkward silence. He leaned away from mom to hug me, clumsily juggling the bottles he had in his arms.

"Hi dad," I mumbled into his shoulder.

"Dimitri," he continued, eyes set on something – or someone – behind me.

"Abe," Dimitri responded, right in my ear. My head whipped round to find him almost beside me, arms folded.

"You scared me," I whispered, laughing nervously as I cast a glance at my mom, who was staring at the floor. Dimitri, sensing my anxiety, chafed my arms soothingly as I stepped forward to greet her.

"Hi mom." My voice sounded nervous and awkward to my own ears. I reached out to hug her, and she let me, though it was the most tense, uncomfortable hug I've ever been a part of.

"Thanks for inviting us," she whispered into my arm, looking up at me with a tiny, grateful smile.

"Thanks for coming," I replied. I pulled back just in time to see my old man and Dimitri exchange a hopeful look. I rolled my eyes and took the latter's hand, and led them all into the sitting room.

Mom and dad took a seat on the three-seater and set their load carefully on the coffee table. I spied champagne and chocolates.

"You know me too well," I grinned, picking up half of the stash and taking it into the kitchen. Dimitri followed with the other half.

Lissa and Christian were still inspecting the food. He was counting up cooking times in his head and she was putting the lid on the borsch, ready for reheating later. I noticed that the table had been completely set, elegantly and artistically as only Lissa could manage.

"You guys ready to open some presents?" I cried excitedly, bouncing up and down. I realised after a few seconds that it wasn't such a good idea in heels – I ended up staggering into Dimitri, who caught me before I fell.

"Oops."

"Ah, Hathaway," Christian sighed, shaking his head. "I am _so_ ready to open presents!"

"We just need to wait for—"

"No, we don't," Dimitri interrupted, cocking his head to one side. Seconds later, someone rapped the door. Everyone turned to stare at Dimitri in awe, but he just shrugged. "Guardian secrets."

"Guardian secrets, my ass. _I'm_ a guardian, and _I_ didn't know he was coming," I muttered, stalking out to get the door. I could hear Dimitri chuckling quietly in the kitchen.

"Hey, little dhampir."

"Hey, Adrian," I replied, closing the door behind him. Adrian was wearing black jeans, an emerald green shirt and matching tie – which also happened to match his eyes. I wish I could do that, but brown isn't the most flattering of colours to wear.

I heard shifting behind me, like someone had just walked into the room. Suddenly, Adrian pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my head. I could hear heavy, irate breathing behind me and Adrian chuckling in front of me. His hold was almost… too tight.

"Hey, hey, easy there," I gasped, pulling out of his arms uncomfortably. Once he realised what I was trying to do, he let me go and stepped around me.

"Belikov," he greeted with a smug grin, which marred slightly when Dimitri wrapped his arm around my waist.

He squared up to Adrian – which wasn't too hard considering his superior height. "Ivashkov," he growled.

My gaze flicked between the two of them, confused. I'd obviously missed something important. The two men were almost forehead to forehead, fists clenched.

"Hey! What the hell's going on?" I demanded, pushing them apart, a hand on each of their chests. Dimitri looked down at me, the fire in his eyes immediately quelling into something softer.

"It's nothing. We just have… differing opinions… about something," he said quietly, squeezing the hand that was pressed to his chest.

"About what, I wonder," Adrian sneered, saying what I was going to. "It starts with 'R' and ends with 'ose.'

I gasped, the only sound that could be heard in the silent room except for the low growl building in Dimitri's chest. Why on earth would they be arguing over _me_?

"Please don't fight over me."

"We won't, don't worry," Dimitri soothed, holding me closer.

"So whipped," Adrian whispered mockingly, disguising it in a cough.

"You, outside. _Now_." Dimitri growled, his voice furious. "I will not let you ruin this Christmas for her. You have a problem with me; we'll sort it in private."

With that, they left the apartment. The whole room stayed frozen in silence for a long second, before everyone gradually ground back into motion. Four sets of eyes turned to look at me with concern. Under their gaze, I straightened up and left the room on shaky legs, kicking my shoes off as I went, going faster and faster until I was almost running. As I passed the front door, the raised voice of my fiancé floated underneath the door. I could hear my name in the mix of words being thrown back and forth angrily.

I had to leave then, because I'd started to cry.

DPOV

I seldom lose control. That was one thing every guardian had to master. Control. And I had, for the most part. I could take it if someone was mocking or deriding me to my face. I could handle someone acting cocky and over-confident. I could stay calm if someone started a fight with me. There was only one thing that could make me lose control. _Every time_.

Someone, deliberately or accidentally, upsetting Rose. I just couldn't handle that. _Especially_ not on her first proper Christmas celebration since she was a baby. I could've wrung Adrian's neck for telling her what we were fighting about. And, let's be honest, this was getting a bit tiring now. Every time I saw Adrian, he ranted on and on about how wrong Rose and I were for each other, and how it wasn't fair to her to stay together when I couldn't give her what she wanted most: a child. He was missing the point, and I was sick of correcting him all the time.

I shut the door behind us as we stepped out into the hallway.

"What do you want, Belikov?" Adrian growled.

"I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to get me to react, to lose control… to make me get so angry that I'll either walk out on Rose or let her kick me out. But it isn't going to happen. I've already abandoned her twice, and I'm not letting it happen again. It hurts too much."

"Can't you see that I'd be so much better for her? I have _never_ abandoned her… not _once_," Adrian shot back angrily.

"Then you'll never know what it feels like to lose her," I said quietly, voice breaking.

"I do know what it feels like! And you know what; I've got it worse than you do! I didn't just lose her, I lost her to _you_. She cheated on me, with _you_. You have _never_ experienced the agony of that."

I wanted to feel guilty, but I didn't. I needed to tell him what I'd come out here to tell him. "I want you to stop upsetting Rose._ Right now_. You don't know how much this day means to her, and she was already upset this morning. Don't make it worse."

His sneer dropped, just for a second. "What was she upset about?" he asked quietly.

I was reluctant to answer. He would use this to build his case against me. I drew in a deep breath and blew it out again before telling him in a rush. "How we can't have children."

Just like that, the scornfulness was back. "See? Can't you _see_? If you really loved her, you'd let her be with someone who could give her what she wants."

"No, Adrian," I growled, voice getting louder. "_No_! That's just you wanting to take Rose away from me! Well, I won't let that happen. Not again. I almost lost her once. I've got her now, and I'm never letting go. Never. Not for you, not for Janine, not for anyone. This is _my_ life, and _my_ future marriage. For once, you don't come first, Adrian, _I_ do. I'm sick of being pushed around by arrogant royals who think their needs are more important than anyone else's. They aren't, alright?

I don't care what you think Rose needs. We've talked about our situation, and she knows that it's just going to be the two of us. We'd rather it wasn't, but that's just the way it is. A couple months ago, I thought she was dead. You'll never know how agonising that is. To think that you'll never see her grinning again, never see how her eyes sparkle when she laughs, never hold her in your arms… it's the worst possible feeling you could ever imagine. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. That was the worst day of my life. It was worse than watching your father brutally abuse your mother. It was worse being in a car accident; I would take that a thousand times and be grateful. I would stay a Strigoi for all eternity to keep her safe. I'd get staked through the heart a million times over, if it meant Rose could live. And I'm sorry, but I'm not giving her up to a smoking, drinking, bed-hopping _unstable_ royal Moroi who would purposely upset her just to get back at me.

You don't understand, Adrian. You're missing the point. I love Rose, and she loves me. We have a bond that can't be broken. Not by time, distance, or other relationships. From the moment I met her, I knew she was special. More than that; she was amazing, gorgeous, incredible, breathtaking… perfect. I knew that she was my Roza, right from that first moment. Where I'm at now is more than I ever dared to dream of. My charge is fast becoming my closest friend, I've come back from being Strigoi, I'm back in contact with my family, I have a few amazing friends, I'm finally starting to get over Ivan's death, and to top it all off, I'm marrying the girl of my dreams; the most beautiful, funny, amazing girl in the world. And now I have a delusional, biased idiot telling me _constantly_ that I should give it all up because I can't have the only thing in the world that could make me happier than I already am: a baby. I believe in miracles, Adrian, and I believe that Rose and I can pull through this. We're getting on with our lives. I suggest you do, too."

Adrian didn't say anything for a few minutes. The second he opened his mouth, I cut in.

"Don't even waste my time, Ivashkov, because you aren't worth it. I want you to do two things. One, don't say another word to me until you grow up and stop picking fights. Two, _if_ you're coming back inside, I want you to be pleasant. It's Lissa, Rose and Christian's first proper Christmas in god knows how long, and I want them to enjoy it. Break either of those rules, and I will not hesitate to kick you out, and you will _not_ be coming back in again. Ever. Got it?"

Adrian nodded, head hung low.

"Good."

We walked back inside to a stony silent room. All eyes seemed to be fixed on me.

"How much of that did you hear?" Adrian asked in a small voice. He sounded embarrassed. I would be, too, if someone had just chewed me out in front of an audience. They probably wouldn't be too pleased with me; he was a friend of theirs, after all.

"All of it," Guardian Hathaway replied, something in her voice I thought I'd never hear. Respect. Acceptance. She knew now how much I loved Rose, and she was going to deal with it. I felt a swell of pride in my chest for cracking her shell, but quickly shoved it back when I realised someone was missing.

Abe and Janine were on the sofa and Lissa and Christian were in the kitchen doorway. "Where's Rose?" I asked, worry creeping into my voice.

Everyone in the room looked like they were about to speak, but no-one did. "What happened?" I asked, a panicky edge in my voice. I now noticed Rose's shoes strewn on the floor, like she'd kicked them off.

"She… ran out, after you two left," Lissa answered finally, eyes cast to the floor. I cursed under my breath and ran out of the room without a backward glance, but caught the doorframe on my way out and rebounded back.

"Lissa, hold the fort here for a while, will you?"

I didn't wait to hear her answer. I ran out into the hallway, kicking open doors as I went. First the bathroom on my right. Empty. Then the small study further down on my left. Empty. Lastly, our bedroom at the end of the hall. Empty, except for a freezing cold draught. Then I noticed the curtains floating away from the wall slightly.

_The window's open? _I thought. _Wasn't it closed this morning?_

Shrugging, I crossed the room to close it. My hand was touching the curtains when I heard it.

Sniffling. Crying. Sobbing.

_She's on the fire escape! _My mind screamed at me as I froze up on the spot on hearing her agonized weeping. _Why are you just standing there, idiot?_

Silently, I pulled the curtains back and raised the window. I could see Rose now, sitting on a blanket on the fire escape, wrapped in one of my sweatshirts. She was shivering violently, from her sobs or the cold, I didn't know.

I stepped out onto the corrugated metal carefully, relieved that I'd found her. She might have heard me, but she didn't turn. I sat down beside her on the blanket and folded my legs before pulling her into my arms and holding her tight, tighter than I ever had. She needed me now, just like I needed her.

The coldness of Rose's skin scared me. I could only guess at how long she'd been out here in the freezing snow. Her ears, cheeks and the tip of her nose were a brilliant red, and the rest of her face had drained to pale, pale white. Her bare legs and feet were starting to turn blue. The vacant look in her eyes made me think she didn't feel it, though.

We didn't speak. I didn't see the point, nor did I feel inclined to. I knew why Rose was upset, and if she wanted to talk, then I would listen. But I had nothing to say to her. Sorry just didn't seem appropriate at a time like this.

"I heard, you know," Rose whispered, staring down at the thick, fluffy blanket of snow on the ground beneath us. "I heard what you said to Adrian."

My heart stuttered erratically. I hadn't been intending for anyone to hear that, never mind Rose herself. "Listen, Rose, there's something I need to… say. To you. It's kind of important."

Her head lifted infinitesimally, an indication for me to continue.

"When I was talking to Adrian, I realised how… quickly everything has gone since that day in the airport. And I know you've told me, many times in fact, that you've accepted our situation, but I can't help but feel guilty that it's got you so upset. I've never seen you cry before this started. Not in the face of adversity, not when Natalie beat you to a pulp, not when Victor took Lissa. _Never_.

It scares me, Roza. I try to be strong for you, but it frightens me when you get so sad… so heartbroken. Because I know it's my fault, and I can't do anything about it," I told her, voice trembling uncontrollably now as I worked up the courage to get to the point. I took a deep breath before asking her the crucial question, the question that would tear my heart apart if the outcome didn't turn out as I hoped it would. "It's for that reason, and that reason _only_, that I'm asking you… if you want out."

Rose, who had been quiet and thoughtful during my monologue, suddenly jerked back to life and turned to stare at me with wide eyes. Those eyes held so many emotions, emotions that I never wanted to see her feel, that made me want to crawl under a rock and rot for bringing them down on her. Those bottomless brown pools were filled with betrayal, agony, pain, torture, sadness, despair, desperation and, most alarmingly, loathing.

I knew what her answer would be, and it tore me to ribbons. After everything we'd been through, it would end like this: in a tangled web of hatred and pain.

"Never," she whispered tearfully, so gently that I could scarcely hear her.

Hope swelled in my heart, so overwhelming I thought I might laugh. I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming out to the world that it wasn't over yet.

"Then why the hate?" I asked, voice shaky as I desperately tried to control it.

"Adrian," she replied grimly. "He planted this worry in your head, that I didn't love you because we couldn't reproduce. He made you think that, if asked to choose, I would pick him over you because he's Moroi. He made you feel the need to ask me whether I was happy with you… and I hate him for that."

Surprising both of us, I tried to defend him. I could've let Rose go on in ignorance, thinking that Adrian was just pitting my disadvantages against me so that he could finally win her back. I knew it wasn't like that, though, so I told her the truth. "You can't hate him, Roza. His motives weren't selfish, they were concerned. _He_ was _concerned_ about you. I flew off the handle at him, but deep down, I knew he was just trying to protect you. He was worried that I was dragging you into this, and that maybe you weren't happy with our relationship because of our predicament. He didn't even really suggest that I give you up to him, he just told me to let you go, so that we could both move on and live happy lives. So, Roza, I beg you, please don't blame him for this mess."

"Oh," was all she said. She just stared at the snow, speechless. Finally, she stood on numb, trembling legs and stumbled into the railing. I jumped up beside her and carefully guided her back through the window. She staggered forward and collapsed onto the bed with a frustrated sigh.

"I don't know what to think now, but I won't be mad at Adrian. And I'm sorry for causing such a fuss. I wanted this to be the perfect fairytale Christmas, but I keep ruining it by getting upset."

"No, no. You had every reason to be. I apologise, on both mine and Adrian's behalf, for being so immature earlier."

Rose shook her head dismissively. "It doesn't matter." She rolled off the bed and headed for the bathroom. "You go back and tell everyone I'll be ten minutes. I just need to fix my make-up."

I nodded and left the room behind her, going back to the still silent sitting room. No-one had moved since I'd left.

"Listen." No-one in the room had noticed my entrance except for Adrian, whose expression remained indifferent. All eyes turned to me. "Rose is fine. I was talking to her just now. She's fixing her make-up and she should be ready soon. But I don't want her coming back in here to dead silences and venomous glares. She's forgiven Adrian, because she knows that his heart was in the right place. And," I continued, crossing the room to stand beside him, "I'd like to extend an apology to you because I know that it was wrong of me to say those things to you out there. I was blinded by anger, and it caused me act irrationally. I'm sorry."

I held out my hand to Adrian as a peace offering. He stared at it distrustfully, like he thought I was going to snap his arm the moment we shook hands. There was a vulnerability in his eyes too, though, like he hadn't been expecting an apology at all, never mind a sincere, voluntary one.

"I'm sorry, too," he finally replied, and we shook hands. I then turned to the rest of the room's occupants.

"Now remember, smile. Try and forget this. Rose is still striving for her fairytale Christmas, despite everything that's happened. Alright?"

Nods were exchanged, and I smiled, satisfied.

Christian moved to sit on the armchair, pulling Lissa down onto his lap. Adrian sat at one end of the two-seater, and I took the other side, to the surprise of everyone in the room. Abe and Janine were on the three-seater with an extra seat between them, which I presumed was for Rose – who had just re-entered the room looking as beautiful and perfect as she had this morning. The only evidence of her breakdown was the slight gasping quality to her breath, which always happened after she cried.

She smiled warmly to no-one in particular and picked her shoes up off the floor before placing them neatly together against the side of the sofa.

"Rosie," Abe murmured, patting the empty seat beside him. She sunk down into the cushion and almost collapsed into his side. He pulled her onto his lap and held her in his arms, rocking her back and forth gently.

"Daddy," she whispered, but there was nothing childish or immature about the word. This was a pained cry from the little girl inside her, the girl who'd grown up without her parents' love. This word was filled with pain, but also with hope and contentment. She finally had her father to look after her, to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything would be okay.

Janine soon joined them in their huddle. She scooted up the sofa and rubbed cautious but comforting circles into her daughter's back while Abe reached around and put his arm around her.

"Isn't that amazing?" Adrian whispered, making his first attempt at talking directly to me. It seemed I hadn't been the only one watching the exchange.

I nodded. "It warms my heart to see them acting like a family."

Eventually, Rose squirmed until she was sitting back on the sofa between her parents. "Can we open presents now?"

Janine laughed. "You haven't changed since you were a baby."

Rose waved her off, the sentimental mood forgotten. "Baby stories later, presents now."

We all laughed as she kneeled in front of the Christmas tree and one of the presents from her. "To Christian, love from me." She grinned, passing the present to its recipient. He shifted Lissa to one side so that he could use both hands to rip open the present on his lap. Thanks to the wrapping paper, we couldn't see what he'd received until he held it up.

"Hot Water! I love this stuff!" he cried, holding up a bottle of aftershave. "And…" he reached into the crumpled paper and pulled out something black and orange. "Very funny," he muttered, holding up the fire-print boxers by the waistband. The room erupted into laughter at the look on Christian's face. "Thanks, Rose."

"My pleasure, Sparky." Rose grinned, pulling out another, smaller, present. "For Lissa."

Lissa took the box and pulled off the paper, much more carefully than Christian had. Inside was a jewellery box, which she opened to reveal a charm bracelet. "Thank you, Rose!" she squealed, hugging her best friend tightly. Rose shrugged her off modestly and passed Adrian the next box.

"For you."

"Thank you."

He opened the massive, flat, crudely wrapped package slowly and carefully, after Rose had warned him of its fragility. When the paper finally fell away, I could see that it was, in fact, a huge photo frame with a picture of all of us in it. I remembered the day it had been taken well. We'd been messing around at the Academy, near where the cabin was. It was a beautiful day, and Lissa had produced a camera and insisted that we take a few pictures. This one was something of a joke: Rose, Christian, Lissa and I were standing in a line pulling faces while Adrian was lying across our arms, shooting the camera a cheesy thumbs-up.

"Oh, Rose… thank you," he said, turning the frame around for everyone else to see. Lissa and Christian laughed, reminiscing. There was a book in the package too, but I couldn't see what it said. It made Adrian scowl, though.

The next gift was passed to Janine, in a box that most-definitely looked stake-sized. I was proven right when she lifted the gleaming silver weapon up, reading the inscription aloud.

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending… oh, honey. Thank you. This means a lot," Janine gushed emotionally, pulling Rose into a hug.

Rose didn't say anything, just patted her back and sighed happily. "I'm glad you like it," she said, pulling back.

"I hope my present is equally meaningful and sentimental," Abe interjected playfully as mother and daughter exchanged a weighty look. Rose jumped up and thrust a present into his hands before sitting on the sofa and pulling her legs up underneath her. As she stared at him excitedly with huge eyes, I began to wonder just what she had actually _bought_ for him.

"Rose…" Abe whispered, his breath faltering as he read the text on what looked like an old leather volume, complete with tarnished gold-tinted clasps. He opened it slowly and took in the first page, a photograph of a tired-looking red-haired woman holding a beautiful baby. Rose and Janine.

It was a photo album.

Abe flicked through each page, staring hard at each photo as Rose's life progressed visually before his eyes. A picture of her first birthday. The day she learned to walk. Holding her first teddy. Her first day at St. Vladimir's. Then the pictures changed. They no longer included Janine in them. They were set in the colourful classrooms of the Academy. A picture of a young Rose sitting at a table with an adorable blonde girl – Lissa – her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she focused on the sheet of paper in front of her, which had 'Rosema' written on it in shaky, unsure letters. Learning to write her name. This was probably the same day that Rose threw a book at her teacher and called her a fascist bastard.

The photos grew more and more recent. Toward the end of the album, I began to recognise people I knew in them. There was a picture of Rose and Mason in ski clothes. A picture of her and Lissa, taken at the dance. Surprisingly, a picture of us sparring. I didn't remember that being taken. There was a picture of Rose, Lissa, Christian and me taken out at the lake. On and on they went, until he turned the last page. There, a photo of Abe, Janine and Rose was taped, all smiling, all looking completely happy. Underneath, a message was scrawled.

_I love you, dad_.

For what was probably the first time in his life, Abe looked like he might cry. But, to his credit, he didn't. He just put his arms around Rose and engulfed her in a bear-hug, something only a father could master. After, he laid the book carefully on the table. I could now see what it said on the front.

_The Incredibly Interesting and Action-Packed Life (So Far) of Rose Hathaway._

It had been written in crooked, childlike writing with different-sized letters, some of them back to front. I had to admit the idea was touching.

"And now for your present, comrade," Rose announced, grinning. She held a small, wrapped box up in front of my face.

"Did you get someone to wrap this for you? There's no way you could manage to make it so neat." I grinned.

"You know me _way_ too well. The guy in the shop did it for me," she replied, shoving the present at me. "Now open it!"

"Okay, okay." I took the box, pulled off the ribbon and carefully took off the paper to reveal a flat, black, square-shaped box underneath. I lifted the lid cautiously, having no idea what was underneath.

Nestled in cotton wool lay a gleaming gold wedding band and a matching bracelet, both engraved. I took out the ring first, examining the elegant script around the inside.

_My heart, my soul, my everything._

If I hadn't made a resolution not to cry again for a _very_ long time, I think I would've welled up reading that. I quickly moved on to the bracelet, not giving my emotions the chance to betray me I felt myself laughing as I held up the piece of jewellery. Among the chain links was an oval-shaped gold plate where, I presumed, you got the person's name engraved. Rose had done something to that effect.

The word engraved was comrade.

"Do you like it?" she asked nervously, shuffling closer to me on her knees with worry-filled eyes.

"I love it, Roza… thank you," I replied sincerely, pulling her into my chest. She smiled gently and kissed my nose.

"I'm glad."

Everyone in the room watched this exchange with soft expressions. They knew what life had been like for both of us a few short months ago, and I supposed they were all glad that it had been worked out.

"I'm next!" Adrian called, jumping down off the sofa and groping for the presents from him. Rose returned to her seat between her parents as Adrian started handing out gifts.

For Janine, he'd bought a stake sheath and for Abe, an almost luminous blue scarf. He'd bought Lissa an expensive-looking emerald necklace and Christian a box-set of some American TV programme that I'd never heard of. He gave me a series of westerns – I guess Rose had helped him with those – and gave her a beautiful hair-clasp embedded with pea-sized jewels of several different colours.

Abe took his turn at handing out gifts next. He'd bought Lissa an expensive looking fountain pen, Christian a black leather jacket and Adrian a silver cigarette lighter. For Janine, he'd bought a black and silver brooch that looked like it had come out of a jewellery shop. When he pulled the final present out from underneath the tree, he handed it to me.

"That's for both of you, from both of us," he explained. "But you can't let Rose see." He winked at me. I knew he'd done it on purpose to get her thinking about what it was.

Curious, I lifted the lid of the small, rectangular box.

"Seriously?" I almost yelled, staring into the unassuming box. I certainly hadn't been expecting _this_

"Seriously," Abe repeated. I was about to argue, but he held his hand up. "I don't want any arguments. It won't make a difference."

"Um… thank you," I replied fervently, closing the box and slipping it into my pocket.

Rose looked confused. "Why can't I see?" she whined, staring up at her father like she was willing him to change his mind.

When no-one answered, and Janine went to sort out her gifts, Rose scowled and folded her arms across her chest. Abe ruffled her hair affectionately, which made her frown deepen.

Janine had taken a decent stab at buying gifts, even though it was something she probably didn't do very often. For Lissa and Christian, she'd bought his and hers champagne glasses – even though, technically, they weren't old enough to drink. For Adrian, she'd bought an extensive set of charcoals.

"Rose told me you like art," she explained. Adrian's eyes were glowing with delight. I had a feeling he would go straight home and dig out his old sketchbook.

"Thank you," he told her enthusiastically.

For Abe, she'd bought thick gold chain that he immediately fastened round his neck, seemingly thrilled.

Lissa passed her gifts out next. For me, she'd bought a duster.

"A spare," she explained. "What with all the running around the country you Guardians do, I'm sure a back-up will come in handy at some stage."

"It will. Thank you." I added the duster to the growing pile of miscellaneous objects beside me.

For Rose, she'd bought a sterling silver ankle bracelet that was adorned with tiny roses and pearls. Despite hating everything rose-themed, Rose seemed to love it.

For Abe and Janine, Lissa had booked a weekend away at the same ski-lodge that the Academy had evacuated to last year. They seemed amazed at first, and then excited. They couldn't seem to stop saying thank you.

For Adrian, she'd bought tickets to see the final game of some baseball tournament. He was overjoyed, whooping and yelling like he was already there.

Lastly, Lissa had produced Christian's gift. It was tiny, a square box that couldn't be more than two inches square. He lifted the lid, probably wondering what on earth was inside.

He lifted out a baby's dummy, confusion written all over his face. "What the—? Is this a joke?" Suddenly, the symbolism behind the present dawned on him, and his face seemed to glow as he stared at his girlfriend in wonder. "Really?"

"I'm pregnant," Lissa confirmed, tears in her eyes as she grinned. Everyone jumped up to congratulate them as Christian lifted Lissa and spun her around before setting her down and just staring at her, awe in his eyes.

After everyone had settled down, I handed out my gifts. A bracelet for Janine that said 'guardian' on it in Turkish, a turquoise satin shirt for Abe, a pair of pearl earrings for Lissa, a new stereo for Christian – his had broken a few weeks back when he'd been rocking out too hard and, more importantly, too loud. A personalised pint glass for Adrian and for Rose, a necklace. It was simple, a heart shaped silver locket with a brilliant red stone embedded in the middle. Inside, '_you and me against the world, forever'_ was scrawled in neat, graceful script on the silver.

Rose realised what I meant, caught the many different meanings of the phrase. She shot me a grateful look and leaned over to kiss me.

"Thanks, comrade," she whispered against my lips.

"I mean it. It's you and me—"

"Forever," she finished, smiling.

"Exactly," I kissed her forehead gently and pulled her up onto my lap.

Christian was the last person to hand out his gifts. He seemed jittery, but I put it down to the fact that he'd just found out he was going to be a father in a few short months.

The first present he gave was to Abe. It was a shiny gold watch. Janine got a fancy green scarf, though it looked like something she would wear when she wasn't on duty. For Adrian, a beer tap – he got a bit over-excited, as one might expect. For Rose, a picture book about two kids from a children's TV show called Rosie and Jim, except he'd taken a marker to Jim and changed the 'J' to a 'D' and added 'itri' on the end. I had to laugh at his attempts. He'd also got her a portable DVD player – she hadn't stopped whining about them since she saw someone in the hospital with one. For me, a stake with a Celtic looking pattern on it. These personalised stakes seemed to be particularly popular this year.

Lissa was the last person to get her present. It was in a small box, about an inch and a half square. I could guess what it was, but I couldn't be sure. My speculation was confirmed when Lissa ripped off the paper and Christian took the small jewellery box from her frozen hands. Rose had gone completely still on my lap.

Christian had already been crouched on one knee before Lissa had opened her present, something I'm sure was not a coincidence. The room went completely silent as he pinched the top of the box and lifted it to reveal a sparkling ring.

"I had this planned before you told me the news, obviously," he explained, looking only at Lissa, who was glowing. "I love you with all my heart and soul; Lissa Dragomir, will you marry me?"

A beat of silence passed. Then two. Everyone turned to stare at Lissa, who was staring into Christian's eyes, dazed, with a huge smile on her face.

"Yes! Of course!" she finally cried, leaping into his arms for the second time today.

"Talk about ending the gift-giving with a bang," Adrian murmured, chuckling.

We all crowded around the couple, congratulating them once again. Everything gradually died down, and Christian rose from his chair to check on the dinner. Lissa stood, too, but didn't follow.

"Dimitri, could you help Christian with the food?"

"Of course," I replied, ushering Rose off my lap and following Christian into the kitchen. Seconds later, Adrian followed, enquiring the whereabouts of the champagne. Abe and Janine weren't far behind.

We all knew that Lissa wanted us out of the room; we just didn't know why. I could hear her muffled conversation with Rose from where I was standing near the doorway.

"Listen, I want to talk to you about something," Lissa said quietly.

"What is it?" Rose asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, it's just… it's about _this_."

I moved away from the door, then, giving the girls the privacy they so obviously wanted.

RPOV

"Who's that for?" I asked, confused. Lissa was holding up another gift, this one so long and thin you'd think she'd wrapped up a sheet of paper.

"It's for you," she told me. "This is your real present; I just wanted to give it to you… in private."

"…Okay. Can I see it?" I enquired, staring at the parcel in confusion. I was plenty happy with the ankle bracelet; I didn't need another present, especially not one that could possibly be paper.

"One more thing," Lissa said, holding the package away from me. "You can't tell _anyone_ about this. No-one. Not Christian, Adrian, your parents. Not even Dimitri. It's for the best. If this… doesn't work out, they'll get upset."

"I'm intrigued. Can I see now?" I held out my hand, and this time, Lissa humoured me and passed over the gift.

When I tore off the paper, I could see that it was, in fact, an envelope. I opened it and pulled out the stiff sheet of paper inside.

"What… is this?" I asked confusedly. I knew, though. I knew exactly what it was. It was an appointment sheet for the hospital. The thing I was struggling to understand was that the words 'maternity ward' were written underneath the name 'Doctor Ivashkov' – the doctor that had warned me of Dimitri's predicament. Apparently, she wasn't a brain surgeon at all.

"Is this a sick joke?" I spat, glaring up at her. She recoiled in surprise and held her hands out. "As if I haven't been through enough—"

"No, no. _Rose_! Hear me out! Do you remember that day in the park? The day we were talking about Dhampirs and how they can't have kids?"

"Yes. And?"

Satisfied that I was interested enough to answer, she continued. "Remember I ran off?" she didn't wait for me to say anything this time. "I ran straight to Doctor Ivashkov… she's a friend of mine. I asked her if she thought it would ever be possible for two Dhampirs to conceive a child, because I knew two that deserved it more than anything, and she said yes, someone would probably find a way some day. I asked her if she would like to be that person, and she laughed at me, but I continued. I said that I wanted to find a way to do it, and I needed her help. She said she'd need to think about it, but later that evening, she called me and said she was in.

The next day, when she was off duty, we were down in her office, tirelessly comparing the genetic make-up of humans, Moroi and Dhampirs. We needed to see what the difference was between them. It took us a fortnight of sleepless nights and early rises, but we finally figured it out."

My mouth dropped open with a loud pop. I liked where this was going.

"Forgive me, but I don't know what it is exactly we found. The name is very long-winded and confusing. Anyway, we found this… _chemical_, let's call it, in all species, but in varying quantities. Moroi have the most, which means that they can reproduce with all three species: Moroi, Dhampir and human. Between the male and the female, there's always enough to make a baby. Humans have just about enough to reproduce with each other, and of course with Moroi. Dhampirs have the least, but there's still enough to have a baby with a Moroi. Unfortunately two Dhampirs—"

"Don't have enough combined to have a baby," I finished in wonder. How had no-one discovered this before? I felt the first tiny glimmer of hope shine in my heart as I stared down at the paper clutched in my hands.

"So, we tested me for this 'chemical.' Once we knew what it was and what it was made up of, we were able to produce it synthetically. I booked you in with the doctor in January, and all she has to do is inject the chemical into your system and you're good to go," Lissa explained.

A beat of silence passed. Two. Three. Then four. Finally, I looked up from the appointment sheet and squealed with delight as I jumped on poor Lissa, tackling her onto the armchair.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I cried, tears of joy rolling down my face as I kissed her cheeks. She laughed and patted my head.

"No problem."

"But why can't I tell Dimitri?" I asked, letting her up.

Her expression clouded over. "It's best to tell only who you absolutely must. If this didn't work, you'd be devastated, right?"

"Right," I agreed.

"And so would I, right?"

"Right." I didn't know what she was getting at.

"If you were to tell Dimitri, don't you think he'd be devastated, too?"

"Yes," I agreed carefully. "And?"

"And do you really want that to happen? Wouldn't you rather wait and see if it works, and _then_ tell him? And cause him only joy?"

"Right!" I agreed finally, understanding what she was trying to say. "Okay, I won't tell him. We'll keep it between the two of us. Now, let's get back before they get suspicious."

They were suspicious. All eyes regarded us with confusion as we re-entered the room; I guess they'd heard my squeals.

"Something happen?" Christian asked, eyebrow arched as he swapped trays and pans around in the oven. Pure, unadulterated ecstasy still shone in his eyes from earlier.

Lissa was a hopeless liar; I'd learned that the hard way. So I took it upon myself to save the situation, thinking on my feet. "Liss was just telling me about how she found out she was pregnant, and how far along she was." The lie came out flawlessly; even Lissa seemed impressed.

"And how far along _are_ you?" Christian asked, excitement seeping back into his tone.

"About nine weeks," Lissa replied, grinning. I was no longer jealous of her, though I hoped with all my heart that the injections worked.

Christian opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when Adrian yelled from the sitting room, "champagne!"

Everyone herded back through the doorway to where Adrian had lined out the champagne flutes and was holding the green, foil-topped bottle in his hand, ready to let the cork fly.

We took cover as he jammed a knife into the side of the bottle neck and levered the cork upwards – probably not the safest thing to do. It shot off suddenly and flew through the air before bouncing off two of the walls and rolling along the floor, stopping at Christian's feet.

Adrian whooped and started to fill the glasses as we picked ourselves up from our various hiding places around the room.

We chatted and reminisced excitedly as we sipped our champagne, Christian leaving every so often to check on dinner. We all knew when it was ready; the amazing smells of roasted meat were wafting through the doorway into the kitchen.

When Christian called us in, no-one hesitated. We were all starving, and took our seats at the table in record time, with Dimitri at the head, me on his right and Christian on his left. Lissa was beside Christian, and Adrian was beside her, at the corner. Dad was at the foot of the table, and mom was between me and him.

Dimitri served the borsch heated, though it can also be served cold. We chatted as we ate, talking about everything from presents to pregnancies, from weddings to the weather. Our conversation was quite the zigzag, but it was starting to feel more like Christmas, so I didn't care.

When Christian brought the plates of dinner out, I noticed that they were served in two different sizes. Five plates were heaped with food – the men's plates. The other two had slightly less, for the two women. I found this completely sexist and was about to protest the size of my portion when I realised that there were three women in the room, and a massive, steaming plate of food had just been placed in front of me.

I sighed happily and stuffed my face with the first thing my fork touched, for once not mad at having my gender contested.

"I still can't believe it," Christian announced incredulously as he sat down. "You're pregnant… wow."

"I wonder what the baby will look like," Lissa wondered, sighing happily and caressing her stomach.

"I think it'll have your hair and my eyes," Christian stated dreamily.

"I was actually thinking the other way around. Blonde hair and blue eyes."

"Well, I predict that it's gonna look just like Christian… poor kid," I foretold, laughing at Christian's wounded expression. "Kidding. You aren't ugly, Sparky. I love you really."

"Love you too, Rosie," he grinned, blowing me a kiss.

"Pregnant fiancée sitting right here!" Lissa joked, whacking Christian across the head. The words 'pregnant' and 'fiancée' had him lapsing back into his dream state.

Dinner was amazing, and dessert was better. I scowled when Lissa brought the cake out; it looked so much tidier than if I had tried to decorate it. Icing sugar was sprinkled lightly across the chocolate surface like snow, and a little snowman constructed out of icing had been placed in the middle.

It tasted amazing though; that I _could_ take credit for.

As soon as the plates had been cleared, Dimitri jumped up from the table and excused himself from the room. I could hear muffled banging in our bedroom, and the bang of the front door opening and closing, accompanied by a draught from the hallway.

I decided not to give it much thought and clambered onto a chair to get the Christmas crackers down from the top shelf of the cupboard, where I left them and promptly forgot about them.

I finally managed to get the box down with my fingertips, wishing that Dimitri had been here to help with his superior height. I began to wonder what he was up to, just as he waltzed back into the room, looking strained and disorganised, like he'd just done something that required a lot of planning very quickly. Without questioning him, I handed out crackers to everyone.

I pulled mine with Dimitri, and Lissa pulled hers with me. I got a red paper crown, a packet of mini-screwdrivers and a lame joke that I'd heard hundreds of times before, but it still made me laugh because it was about a vampire.

After everyone had pulled their cracker, put on their crown and forced laughter at the stupid jokes, dad stood up and looked at the clock, shooting mom a meaningful look.

I followed his gaze curiously, wondering what time it was. The hands told me it had just gone five o'clock. The time seemed to have disappeared from underneath my feet.

"Well, we'd better go… we have to pay a visit to the Szelsky's," dad said, picking up his jacket from the back of a chair. Mom followed, gathering all their gifts in a bag and pulling her scarf closer to her face.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner, Christian, and the soup, Dimitri," she said gratefully, "and thank you all for a lovely day. And congratulations!" she called as Abe dragged her out the door, winking at Dimitri and grinning at the rest of us.

"Wonder what that was about," I mused, shaking my head.

"No idea," Dimitri replied, way too innocently. I let it slip, because Adrian had just gathered up his things.

"I need to pay my parents a visit. Mom would kill me if I left her with my dad and my great-aunt all day," he explained, walking to the door. "Thanks for inviting me. This was… fun. Really fun," he said, the evaluation seemed to surprise him.

Lissa and Christian were packing up, too. "We'd better go. I'd say there are plenty of other things you two would like to be doing."

I could feel my cheeks heating up. Had she really just said that?

"Uh… no, it's fine. Nothing to do here."

"No, we really do need to go," Lissa stressed, picking up the last of her gifts.

"They do, Roza," Dimitri said quietly, though loud enough for them to hear. Way to be rude.

After they left, Dimitri turned to me. "I want you to do something for me, without asking questions."

"Anything."

"Put these in," he said with a sigh, holding out a pair of earphones attached to an iPod. I obeyed, and he let the music play, too loud for me to hear anything else. He paused it suddenly and said something else. "Put this on, too, please," he said, holding out a plain black eye mask. I held it over my eyes and stretched the elastic over the back of my head before turning blindly to him.

"What now?"

"I'm going to turn the music back on. You don't need to worry about anything; I'm just doing what I was told."

"What you were told?" I repeated, confused.

"By Abe. This is your Christmas present," he told me. I could hear the smile in his voice.

Instead of guiding me out of the apartment and down the elevator, Dimitri lifted me in his arms and carried me down, ensuring a quicker journey.

I tried to get my bearings as we trudged through the snow. The All-American Rejects were jamming in my ears, making it hard to concentrate, but I persevered. I lost track of where we were going until Dimitri lifted me onto a soft upholstery seat, and I felt the vibration of a door slamming. This place smelled familiar, and I immediately linked the concentrated scent of its owner – soap, aftershave and earth, mixed with air-freshener, rubber and coffee – to Dimitri's car.

I felt the car rock as he slammed the door on the other side and pulled out of the garage. I was familiar with the twists and turns that led out of Court, but after that, I was lost. I had no idea what direction we were going, or where our destination would be. I decided to just concentrate on the music, which had now shuffled to play The Beatles.

What I think was about an hour later, the car stopped. I could feel Dimitri opening the trunk and hauling something heavy out of it. It made the car bounce on its springs. Finally, he slammed the trunk closed and opened my door for me. I groped for his hand and pulled myself wondering if this was really necessary. It definitely screamed 'Abe Mazur', though. Mysterious, vague and highly futile.

I grasped Dimitri's hand and followed him as he led me over what felt like asphalt. The fact that he kept me firmly pressed to his left side made me think he was holding something in his right. Something he was carrying… or maybe dragging.

Seconds later, our surroundings changed drastically. The floor changed to linoleum, and the air became filtered and synthetic. I could sense a lot of people on all sides of me, and the artificial light in the cavernous room was so fluorescent I was catching glimpses of it through my mask.

Dimitri wasted no time. We travelled to the far left of the room – I know this because Dimitri left me standing up against the wall, feeling pretty idiotic. He came back seconds later, his hands free of whatever he had been carrying. He led me through a door, into a much smaller space. I let my fingertips brush along the wall to my right as we walked, trying to stay upright. Having no sense of sight or sound was very disorientating.

Finally, we exited the corridor, or tunnel, or whatever it was. After more walking, we came to a turnstile, which Dimitri guided me through and then took point again and led me through this strange labyrinth.

_Just where the hell _am_ I? _

Finally, we came to a door. It was glass, and when we stepped through it. Cold air hit me in the face like a slap. It was windy out here, and I had to hold on to my earphones to keep them in. I hated surprises, but if dad and Dimitri had gone to such pains to keep this one, then I wouldn't be the one to ruin it.

We descended up some steps, the staircase too narrow for Dimitri to carry me. When we reached the top, he led me round a sharp corner and guided me to the middle of the small room we were in. I sat down when he pushed my shoulders down gently, on what felt like a plush leather dining chair, though I knew it couldn't be. Dimitri sat down in the one beside me, and we waited.

Finally, something started vibrating. But not like a cell phone vibrating. Ten times bigger than that. A hundred times bigger. These vibrations made my teeth chatter and my toes curl and my body shake. I had no idea what was going on.

Dimitri saw my anxiety and kissed my cheek, his hands in my hair. I smiled and settled back into the seat.

Then the room started _moving_. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. Then it started to tip upwards, its rough bouncing turning to gliding. I bit my tongue as the room ascended, and then it hit me.

_I'm in an aeroplane! Stupid, stupid Rose! It was so obvious!_

Satisfied and no longer worried, I let my head roll onto Dimitri's shoulder and my eyes close.

When I woke up, we weren't on a plane any more… we were driving. I quickly felt along the seat for Dimitri, but quickly realised that I'd been strapped into the back. I wondered how I'd got here, and where we were going. I was starting to get excited.

A half hour or so later, the car stopped. Dimitri got out, opened the trunk and pulled the heavy thing out again, which I now knew must be suitcases. The trunk slammed, and then he disappeared.

Five minutes later, my door opened, and Dimitri lifted me carefully from the seat. I felt like speaking, but didn't know how loud I would sound over Blink182, so I kept my mouth shut.

Dimitri carried me up a short set of steps and through a door, into warm, welcoming heat. He set me down in the middle of a room. This place smelled familiar, like burning wood, herbs and something that I'd only smelled in one place before. The unique, grainy scent of black bread.

_Black bread. _

Milliseconds before Dimitri pulled off the mask, I knew where I was.

Home.

* * *

><p><strong>Whoop whoop!<strong>

**I hope the whole scientific chemical thingy wasnt too far-fetched! i just wanted to come up with a different way for Rose to get pregnant:P**

**Also, next chapter will be at 'home'! Woo! Can't wait!**

**And were the presents all right? :/ and lissa and christian's news? and the Dimitri/Adrian war? I'm really worried about this chapter because its so long... and there's so much happening :/**

**So, about reviews... could we get even more than we did last chapter? Let's try for 25+ ...they'll maybe be a quicker ud in it for you guys!**

*****IMPORTANT: I HAVENT UPDATED ANY OF MY OTHER STORIES IN A WHILE, I'M JUST CONCENTRATING ON THIS FOR A WHILE, BUT I SHOULD BE UPDATING THEM SOON*****

**...Sorry, i've always wanted to do that :P**

**Anyway, I'm gonna go start City of Ashes and maybe get some sleep :)**

**Annie x**


	15. Warm Welcome

**Hello! So sorry for not updating in so long! It's been like four months; jeez, where has the time gone? I thought i'd have this ud'd again before New Year, but there you go :/**

**Big shoutout to all my lovely reviewers: olivia williams, Nefarious1972, Dimka's chick, The , Lock Ness Monster13, peggy, JoJo110465, Lucy, lovingbites, ladora, SirenTheSpazz, MorganvilleRoza, Ranim, artie, xoxo and LilyPotterRozaBelikova... thanks guys! :D and i'm glad you all enjoyed Christmas!**

**So this chapter is a little... different from the others. I realised yesterday that, in VA, Karolina had Zoya and Sonya was pregnant, so i tried to fit that into this chapter a little... it's just like me to forget something important like that :P but that's not all... the twist has something to do with the bond, which i'd also kind of neglected to write about... some freaky shit goes down, that's all i'm gonna say:o**

**Last thing i wanted to say... everyone's psyched for the VA movie, right? RIGHT? Well, being a dutiful follower of the Official Vampire Academy Movie (OVAM) page on Facebook, I was wondering who everyone's dream cast was. Here's mine:**

**Rose Hathaway: Odette Yustman **(love her! she just looks like Rose to me!)

**Dimitri Belikov: **Ben Barnes (Yes, I am a BB die hard... I HATE Taylor Kitsch, sorry to everyone who loves himXD Ben Barnes is just the most awesome guy ever, AND he played a Russian guy in Bigga than Ben AND he wore a duster in Killing Bono... IT'S FATE:o Anyway, to conclude, I heart Ben!3)

**Lissa Dragomir: **Taylor Duggan (Any fellow OVAM aficionados will probably know her; she's an unknown and i LOVE her :D)

**Christian Ozera: **Logan Lerman! (3 Loved him in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief! He's definitely my Christian fo sho ;D everyone else looks tooo angular and skinny or something:L)

**Adrian Ivashkov: **Chace Crawford (again, I LOVE him :) he's just too cool, and he's totally a pretty boy ;D)

**Eddie Castile: **Josh Hutcherson/Drew Roy (I loved Josh Hutcherson before he was in The Hunger Games, but I think he should probably just stick to one fandom, if you catch my drift ;) so my next best is Drew Roy, 'cause he's awesome :D)

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter... It's dedicated to SirenTheSpazz, because again, her review made me laugh! (Btw, i agree with your friend, GALE'S BETTER!)**

**Annie :)**

**P.S. You guys might have noticed that I've changed my penname to YamiMagicianGirl... if anyone knows what it's from, I officially love you3 but if not, it's from Yu-Gi-Oh!, which is my favourite TV show :3 go me!**

**P.P.S. I made a Twitter account 'specially for you guys, because i love y'all and i kinda felt like i should; i dont know why... is it a good idea? :L also, y'know, you can follow me if you want, at AnnieFFn :D**

**...Okay, NOW i'll release you from this ridiculously long A/N (is anyone even still reading?) and you can get on with the chapter...**

* * *

><p>CROSSED WIRES 15<p>

DPOV

I knew by the quirk of Rose's mouth that she'd figured out where she was seconds before I pulled the blindfold away. But that didn't take away from her expression when she laid eyes on my family.

"Rose!" Karolina and Sonya cried in unison, and they ran at her, screaming and laughing. I looked around for Viktoria and Paul but realised they must be at school. As the girls jumped up and down like overexcited children, mama skirted round them warily and took me in her arms. I hadn't been at her height since I was about nine or ten, but that didn't stop me from bending down to rest my cheek on her head.

"I've missed you, Dimka," she whispered, so quietly I thought maybe I'd imagined it.

"I missed you too, mama," I murmured as she pulled away from me. Our gazes flicked to Rose simultaneously. She was being smothered by my giggling sisters, who, I realised, had come to think of Rose as their sister already, and we weren't even married yet. I smiled at the sight. I'd once worried that my family wouldn't like Rose because she was so young, and I was a fool to even think it. No-one could dislike her once they got to know her.

"Is everything alright between the two of you?" mama asked, misconstruing my smile as one of sadness, I supposed. She laid a supportive hand on my shoulder.

I grinned, thinking of my argument with Adrian and the approval I'd gained from Janine. "Never better." Hearing the sureness of my voice, mama smiled too and patted my arm once before going to greet Rose.

My sisters ceased their screaming and ran at me, as if they'd just noticed I was standing in the room. Sonya jumped up and threw her arms around my neck. I had to hold her off the ground with one arm while Karolina hugged around my waist from underneath my other arm.

Then I noticed something odd. Something about how Karolina's loose jumper fell over her stomach. "Lina, are you—?"

"Hey, big brother!" Viktoria half-yelled suddenly, half in the front door. I momentarily forgot about my question for Karolina. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were coming?" I whirled, and there she was, wearing jeans, boots and a heavy winter coat, with Paul just behind her. His eyes lit up when he saw us.

Viktoria ran and threw herself at me, causing me to stumble back a little. I chuckled and set her down carefully. "I didn't know until today." Her bottom lip jutted out, but she didn't argue. I looked over to where Rose was chatting to mama, and back to where I thought Sonya and Karolina were, but they'd disappeared. With a shrug, I wrapped an arm around Viktoria's shoulders and guided her over to join the conversation.

"…wedding plans going well?"

Rose grimaced, and cut me a glance. I avoided mama's gaze. "Well… about that…"

"We haven't started planning it yet," I finished, scrunching my face up against the torrent of exasperated abuse that was sure to come from my normally placid mother. Viktoria pulled away from me and went to stand opposite Rose, glaring between us with her hands on her hips.

"You. Haven't. Started. Planning. Your. _Wedding_. Yet?" she spat, eyes blazing. I flinched. I hadn't realised it was such a big deal. I mean, we were going to get married eventually… no point in getting angry because _eventually_ didn't equate to _right now_… right?

"Vika, calm down," mama murmured, patting her daughter's head. "You can ask questions, just don't breathe fire whilst doing so." She bustled away, calling something about Paul and his whereabouts. I realised that, although I was exhausted, this was really only the middle of a normal day for my family, whereas we'd left Pennsylvania on Christmas night. Russian Orthodox Christmas was celebrated on January seventh, and I'd learned from our airline tickets that we were staying until the eleventh.

"I was expecting a slightly warmer welcome," Rose announced, feigning annoyance. Vika just laughed and engulfed her in a hug.

"Love you too, Rose." As they laughed and hugged and caught up, I stood awkwardly to the side and wondered where Paul was. Just as I thought this, he bounded up to me and threw his arms around my waist.

"Hey, Uncle Dimka!" he cried enthusiastically. I swung him up onto my shoulders and grinned up at him.

"Hey, Paul." His face brightened instantly, and he tugged on my hair—an indication for me to move. I walked him into the living room, and he immediately pointed to the Christmas tree.

"It's almost Christmas!" Paul's face went serious as I looked up at him. "Mama says you're too tired to play with me."

"I'm afraid so, Paul. But just think, after I get some sleep, maybe your mom will allow me to take you sledding."

"Yeah, okay then… tomorrow you have to take me. Promise?" he asked.

I chuckled and put him back on the ground. "I promise. Now let's get you back to your grandmother. She's looking for you."

RPOV

"We're starting tomorrow."

I looked up from the couch, where I'd been nodding off. Viktoria was sitting in an armchair across from me, and she looked pretty determined. "Starting what?" I murmured. "I'm tired."

"Your wedding. We're starting the planning tomorrow. Honestly, I thought Lissa would be a little more on top of this."

I threw my arm over my eyes and grinned to no-one in particular. "Lissa was a little preoccupied."

"What do you mean?"

I laughed. "Well, she announced earlier that she was pregnant… and then not even ten minutes later Christian proposed."

Viktoria squealed and bounced up and down on the armchair. "That's amazing news! So awesome!"

"I know," I agreed, nodding. "She's too good at keeping secrets, though. None of us had any idea!" I rolled onto my side and buried my face in a cushion. Now that Viktoria knew about Lissa's baby, I wanted to tell her about _my_ Christmas present. But I couldn't, because she would undoubtedly want to tell Dimitri.

"Wow, I never even noticed what you're wearing. You look amazing!" she cried suddenly, appraising my outfit. Fortunately, I'd shed the heels somewhere along our journey, and was now wearing a much more comfortable pair of black ballet flats.

I grinned and stood up. "I'm sure I do, after that damn eleven hour flight. Speaking of, I think I'm going to go get some sleep now."

Viktoria groaned as I left the room. "Sleep later!"

I chuckled to myself, and almost ran right into Dimitri as I was going up the stairs. He appeared to be lugging our cases up to his room. I felt weird, going to bed in the middle of the day, but I suppose I could blame jetlag for that. I was just glad it wasn't actually Christmas day here, or we'd have to stay up even longer to celebrate.

"Tired out already?" Dimitri asked, glancing at me over his shoulder as he reached the top of the stairs.

"Well, that, and the need to escape from the harassment I'm receiving from your charming little sister," I replied mock-seriously.

Dimitri looked like he was about to speak, but was interrupted. "Hey! I heard that!" Viktoria yelled from downstairs.

"You were meant to," I called in response, and followed Dimitri into his bedroom. As he undressed, I slipped down the hall to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash off my makeup. Then I quickly pulled off my dress and snuggled underneath the covers. It wasn't until I was actually in bed that I realised how tired I was, even after sleeping for eleven hours on the plane. I supposed, though, being a guardian and all, it was always a good thing to have an opportunity to catch up on sleep.

Dimitri re-entered the room a few seconds later, and slid into bed beside me. His arms went around me and I rolled into his chest. "It's funny," I murmured wearily, just as a thought occurred to me. "Last month, I had nothing. Now I have two families, a fiancé and my best friend in the world is healthy, engaged and pregnant. It's a lot to take in."

Dimitri kissed my forehead. "Everything that happened last month happened for a reason, Roza."

"I know," I murmured, and we both fell quiet. I tried to get to sleep after that, but found I couldn't. My thoughts drifted a few times, but I never actually found myself close to sleeping. Despite being exhausted, I felt wide awake, too. I made myself more comfortable and settled down for a long night. I had a feeling I'd be pretty tired in the morning.

After a half hour of fitful sleep, I carefully extricated myself from Dimitri's arms and threw the covers back. If I couldn't sleep, I'd do the next best thing: go get food. I wasn't _really_ hungry—if that was even possible for me—but I decided I'd go downstairs, mooch some food off Olena and maybe keep her company for a while.

After lying in bed for another ten minutes contemplating my plan—as one does—I stood up and pulled on a dressing gown that was hanging from a hook on the door. I presumed it was Dimitri's… and then I tried it on. It probably stopped at his knees, but it was brushing the floor on me. Shrugging, I left the room. It was warm, and I was cold. Who cared about the length? I just hoped none of the Belikovs had friends over.

Turned out the Belikovs weren't in, period. Well, except for Olena. She was in the kitchen, reading a book. She didn't look up when I walked in. "Vika, what are you—?"

"Hi Olena," I interrupted, giving a small, awkward wave. She blinked hard behind her reading glasses.

"Oh, hello Roza. I thought you were Viktoria."

"Sorry. Am I… interrupting?" I asked, leaning back against the door. "I just… couldn't sleep. Too much to think about."

Olena carefully marked the corner of her page and set her book down. Her glasses came off next. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"If you have time."

She smiled in that warm, motherly way of hers, and patted the chair beside her. "I always have time for my daughters. Besides, it's nice to feel needed."

I sat down beside her, but couldn't speak. The way she'd said 'my daughters' had me a little choked up, and I wasn't the sentimental type. It also had me channelling more resentment toward my mom, even after us making up. I kept thinking about her reaction to Dimitri versus Olena's reaction to me. It was just one of the many things that had kept me up half the night… day.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, looking around as if they'd just appear somewhere.

"Sonya and Karolina took Paul and Vika down to the lake to go ice skating. They go all the time when the weather's like this." We looked to the window in unison, which was almost completely misted over, though the hectic white blur beyond suggested heavy snow. "Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

I knew Olena was only being nice and not pressuring me, but suddenly I was terrified. How could I _talk_ about this? About my feelings? That kind of thing just went right over my head.

_Come on_, the more rational part of me urged. _You've fought whole armies of Strigoi. Hell, you fought Strigoi _Dimitri_. Surely you can have a conversation with your future mother-in-law, who also happens to be one of the nicest people ever!_

I mentally thanked that part of my brain for the pep talk, and steeled myself for whatever was going to come out of my mouth, because honestly… I was in the dark. "Listen, Olena, before I start talking, I want you to know I really, honestly do love Dimitri, and I'm not just taking advantage of him because he's my hot older mentor."

Olena cracked a smile. "I know that, Roza. Go on."

"I guess I just… wondered if you guys were all okay with us getting married. I mean, my mom made her opinion pretty clear, and yours just seemed too good to be true."

She thought for a second, like she was trying to phrase her answer to get her point across more effectively. "I think… if Dimka had told me before I'd met you that he was marrying his eighteen year old student, I would've had my doubts, understandably. But having met you, having seen the unadulterated love in your eyes when you look at him, and vice versa… no, I was—I _am_—truly happy for the both of you.

You see, Roza, I thought maybe Dimitri would never get married… would never fall in love, per se. Growing up, he just didn't seem to notice girls the way his friends did. He had maybe, oh, one serious girlfriend when he was about nineteen, and that was it. He was always so focused on guarding Ivan; he just didn't make time for himself. But I see now, I was silly to worry. You two might not be the best match in principle, but I recognise real love when I see it."

"It means a lot, Olena," I said finally, "to know you all accept me."

She smiled gently. "I'm just glad one of my children is getting their happy ending. After their father… left, I was so worried about the example I was setting for them to follow. And look where it got us. Karolina isn't in contact with her children's father, and Sonya has fallen pregnant from that horrid Rolan Kislyak boy. I still hold out hope that Viktoria will wait to fall in love. I have you to thank, Roza; I don't have to worry about my little boy any more."

"Whoa, whoa," I began, raising my hands. "Hold up. Are Karolina and Sonya _both_ _pregnant_?"

"Of course they are," Olena began, like she thought I was joking. "Wait. Did no-one tell you, Roza?"

"Guess it sort of slipped their minds," I muttered.

Olena looked mortified. "I realised after you two left last month that, in all the chaos, I'd forgotten to tell you that Karolina was pregnant. About a week after you left, we found out Sonya was pregnant, too. Oh Roza, I thought someone had contacted you and Dimka."

"No worries," I assured her and smiled. "Well, surely you don't need to worry about Karolina then. She's strong; she's got her kids. She'll be fine."

"I'm sure you're right," Olena agreed. "Now, I suspect this isn't all you wanted to talk about."

Damn her ability to see through me like I was made of glass. "No. No it's not."

I glanced over my shoulder, half expecting Dimitri to appear in the doorway. Finally—and after making myself suitably paranoid—I decided to take the plunge and tell Olena about Lissa's plan. She would know what to make of it.

"Olena, please don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Especially not Dimitri."

Her face tightened with concern. "Of course, Roza."

I took a deep breath. "Well… you know how you have one grandchild now?"

"Yes…" she agreed slowly, clasping her hands together.

"By this time next year, you might have four."

I watched warily as she did the math. Paul, plus his unborn baby sister, plus Sonya's baby was three. The wheels were turning in her head, and then the penny dropped. Or so I thought. "You and Dimitri are adopting?"

"Not quite." I grimaced. I wasn't good at explaining things. "Don't freak out, but it's possible for me to become pregnant."

Olena ignored my appeal for composure and stood up abruptly. "Are you… _cheating_ on Dimka?"

"No, of course not. I said I loved him, didn't I?" I reminded her softly. Some of her anger dissolved. I grabbed her hand and guided her back into a chair. "Let me explain."

"Okay," she agreed finally.

"See, Lissa thinks she's made it possible for me to have a baby _with_ Dimitri. It was her Christmas present to me. She's been working with this doctor, hoping for a miracle in the form of a medical breakthrough. They got one. I haven't been told much, but apparently they found this chemical that's in humans, dhampirs and Moroi in varying quantities or something. I'll spare you the explanation, but the result remains the same: there's a chance for Dimitri and I to have kids."

Olena said nothing for a very long time. A _very_ long time. I couldn't see her face—she had her head turned away from me—and that worried me. I didn't know what she was thinking.

"Olena…?" I began hesitantly. "Is that a good thing, or…"

"Oh Roza," she sobbed suddenly, and threw herself into my arms. I hugged her tight, rubbing circles into her back as she cried. "Of course it's a good thing. A great thing. A true miracle."

"I know," I agreed, getting a little emotional myself.

"As if I needed another excuse to love you, Roza. The things you've done for my Dimitri… it's astounding. I just want you to know that I've never seen him as happy as he is with you. He never… lets go with anyone but his sisters and you. And it is a true feat to have had that kind of effect on him."

"I know." I grimaced, thinking of all those times I'd acted up around him in high school to get him to notice me. At the time, it seemed pointless. Now I realised everything I'd done had been totally worth it.

"Oh, I'm so happy for the both of you," Olena gushed again, breaking down into more tears.

"Olena!" Yeva snapped suddenly from the living room. I hadn't even known she was there. "Would you quiet down? It's impossible to hear this infernal Jerry Springer man over your constant sniffling!" All that could be heard in the silence was Yeva cackling as Olena dried her eyes with a tissue and shot me a watery smile.

"You'd better get back to bed before Dimitri wakes up and realises you're gone."

"But—"

Another small smile, one that reminded me of Dimitri. "I'll be fine, Roza. Go. And I promise I won't tell Dimitri your secret."

"Thank you," I murmured, bent down to hug Olena, and left the room. I tiptoed up to Dimitri's room carefully, wary of creaky stairs and such.

He was still fast asleep when I hung the dressing gown up and huddled under the duvet beside him. I took a minute to admire the perfection that was Dimitri, sound asleep. His normally handsome beyond belief features were now soft and angelic. He looked just like Paul, with the same clear, innocent expression, the long black eyelashes, the perfectly sculpted, slightly curved mouth, the angular features… he looked like a normal guy in his sleep, not a guardian who was constantly on edge, alert every second of every day. There was also something childish about him, but in that vulnerable way I'd only seen with Dimitri a few rare times. I pressed a soft kiss to his lips and lay down. Almost as if he knew I was back in the bed, he rolled over, snoring softly, and rested his cheek against my shoulder. I slipped my arm around his shoulders and let my fingers thread through his hair. I found this calming, and sometime during it, I fell asleep.

"Rose, what's happening?"

The voice jerked me out of peaceful sleep. It was Lissa, and she was panicked. I hauled myself into a sitting position, breathing heavily. I could feel my hair sticking to my forehead. I could've sworn it was her, but then I realised where I was. There was no way she was here, in Russia. I had to have imagined it.

'_Rose! Where are you?'_ she called again, so faint I was sure I'd imagined it.

And then I realised I was hearing the voice from within my mind. The bond. Of course. After almost a month of it being almost completely dormant, it was awake again.

'_Lissa?' _I screamed in response, mentally of course. I was trembling now. What was happening to her?

Dimitri sat up suddenly from beside me. "Roza, what is it? What's wrong?" He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and swore. "You're shaking."

"It's Lissa. I-I don't know what's happening!" I wailed.

'_Rose, I can't feel your presence any more!_ _Are you there_?'

That was weird. Lissa's presence was becoming more and more pronounced in _my_ head, almost like she was there. That wasn't the only thing, though. Along with her existence, I was also able to feel the sheer amount of Darkness laced through her mind, something she'd obviously been trying to hide from me.

Suddenly I had been sucked into her mind without even trying. She was sitting up in bed, much like I had been, with Christian by her side. The Darkness played around her mind in thick, ugly tendrils. I desperately tried to extract it, to take it for myself. I didn't know if it was working, seeing as I was in her head, but I tried anyway.

"Lissa. Lissa, what's wrong?" Christian half-shrieked. He started to shake my—no, Lissa's—shoulders, but she didn't respond to him.

'_Christian, it's me!_' I yelled at him from the cage of Lissa's head. What I wasn't expecting was for her to repeat it out loud.

"Who? Who are you? Lissa?"

'_Rose. It's Rose. I don't know what's happening Christian! I don't know where Lissa is!_'

"Rose, wait!" But I'd already forced myself back into my own mind. When I looked out of my own eyes, I realised I was now lying on the floor, with Dimitri on top of me. The bed covers were strewn across the room, and the lights were still off. Dimitri's eyes were hard but frantic, his hair messy from sleep.

"Too much darkness! Rose, where are you?" I shrieked, flailing and thrashing against Dimitri's hold. But it wasn't me. I hadn't said those words.

Lissa had.

"Lissa," I said calmly. My body froze. "Something's happening. I don't know what, but you need to get back to your own body. You're strong; you can do this."

"I can't! The Darkness… it's—it's too much!"

Now that I was in my own body, I knew I could take the Darkness from her. I looked directly at Dimitri, who was watching the two of us converse out loud with a look of horror. "Comrade, hold me down."

"Roza, you can't—"

In that one moment, an awful lot happened. I pulled every last coil of Darkness from Lissa's mind, she, with a lot of effort, vanished from my body… and then I went crazy.

"Get off me. GET OFF ME! It's—it's TOO MUCH. LET. ME. _GO_!" I screeched, shoving Dimitri with all the strength I could muster. I hated him. Hated him with everything I had. I hated Lissa, too. _Loathed_ her. Her and her stupid Moroi politics. And Christian. I'd never liked him. I hated him too.

"Roza, stop," Dimitri whispered.

My struggling increased. "Get off me, you JERK. I hate you. I. HATE. YOU. GET _OFF_." I screamed.

Dimitri pressed me harder against the floor, his nails digging into my wrists. It was this tiny burst of pain that helped me recover some of my sanity. "Roza, don't lie. You don't hate me. That's the Darkness speaking. You have to take control, or it'll only get worse."

"I do hate you! I do!"

"You don't," Dimitri argued solemnly. "You love me, and I love you. Can't you see, Roza? This… anger… it isn't you."

Some part of me surfaced, then, that wasn't subjected to the Darkness. Gaining a little more sense, I reached up and yanked my hair as hard as I could with two hands. A horrible keening flooded from my mouth, but it worked a little. Through the pain, which cleared my head, I realised what I was doing wasn't me.

Like Dimitri had said. _This isn't you_.

"This isn't me," I repeated. "This isn't me. This isn't me. IT ISN'T ME!"

"Roza…" Dimitri murmured, and shifted so he was sitting on the floor beside me. I suppose he realised I was getting myself back.

Or maybe not.

As quickly as my wave of consciousness came, it was gone again, overpowered by another surge of madness. "I hate you," I whispered venomously, and punched Dimitri as hard as I could in the face. The sane part of my mind was screaming at the other, foreign part to stop, but my body didn't seem to hear. Dimitri sat back, shocked, and clutching his left eye.

I didn't see any more of him, because I crawled up onto the bed, pulled the duvet over my head and cried. Not voluntarily, either. The real me was still just a spectator to this madness. But for once in my life, I was sort of glad to just sit and weep. Because with every tear I shed, I felt a little piece of the madness go with it.

* * *

><p><strong>Whew... poor Rose : I made a resolution after last chapter that her and Dimitri wouldnt cry again for a long time, because obviously the two of them JUST DONT DO THAT... but ummm, well, she wasnt really in control of herself and she needed to look vulnerable and stuff soo... yeah, she cried:P**

**Now, though, I wanna know... should Dimitri comfort her, or go off alone for some time to think? I'm inclined to go with the second one, but i'm not too sure :/**

**So, reviews-wise, I'm not gonna set a target, because I know this is sort of a filler chapter. But i'd like to know your cast for the VA movie and what you thought of the chapter!**

**Until next UD,**

**Annie**


	16. Adrenaline

**Yayy, i havent died!:D **

**(Today, because i always forget to mention things in my ANs, though you wouldnt think it by the length of them, i decided to make a list, which i have beside me. So here goes...)**

**First off, i'm actually so SO sorry for disappearing for months at a time AGAIN, but i really have been having a busy time, plus you guys who've been with me since last year know the drill: i was at the gaeltacht for three weeks and just got back sunday... SORRY!:(**

**But I havent been lying around doing absolutely nothing during that gap. Oh, NO! I have been working on the SEQUEL to this story *insert audience 'ooooooh' here* and i have ELEVEN chapters finished. ELEVEN! I'm kind of proud of myself:') except now i just want to finish this story so i can upload the other one:D**

**Thirdly, I want to say a big GO RAIBH MAITH AGAT (thank you in irish, because i'm feeling particularly irish this week) to my reviewers: olivia williams, , Audrey Isabella Slayer, LilyPotterRozaBelikova, Storm81, Vero Diaz, The Mystery is in the Words, Datass-assin, Cherryblossom2198, Ranim, SirenTheSpazz, Dimka's Chick, Dimka, lightwood, kittenxxkisses and ButtercupluvsJACE:D**

**Fourthly, I think I left some of you a little confused with the last chapter. Believe me, it surprised me too. I didnt know it was going to happen until it did:L Not much can be explained now but there'll be more said about the darkness and stuff when Rose and Dimitri get back to Court...:D**

**Fifthly (if that's even a word), if anyone wants to make a cover for this story, seeing as that handy little picture thingy up there^^ has come out of nowhere, then feel free:p it would be greatly appreciated!:D**

**Sixthly, I couldnt be bothered writing more gloom this chapter, so i made it a little fluffy instead hehe:D**

**Okay, err, that's it so...**

**Have fun reading,**

**Annie:)**

* * *

><p>CROSSED WIRES 16<p>

DPOV

I sat on the floor by the bed. I just sat there. Rose had crawled under the covers a few minutes ago, and I let her go without a word. I left her to her own thoughts, and prayed she'd leave me with mine.

I knew full well it was the Darkness. I knew she didn't hate me. I also knew she didn't mean to punch me; it was something she couldn't control, couldn't get a handle on after everything happened so unexpectedly. But it hurt, and I didn't mean my eye.

I'd always hoped I could be her rock: the person who could take her hand and pull her from the dark hole that was her mind. When the Darkness threatened to spill over, I wanted to be the person she could think of who could keep her sane. Maybe I wasn't that person. When she looked at me, all I could see in her eyes was burning hatred. And then she'd hit me. Sure it hurt physically, but it hurt more emotionally.

I knew I couldn't blame Rose for something she couldn't control, but that didn't stop me from hurting over the fact that I couldn't _help_ her control it. But I would certainly try.

I clutched my throbbing eye, knowing without doubt that it would be blackened and ugly in a few days. But that was the least of my concerns right now.

She sat on the bed across the room from me, wrapped up so tight beneath the duvet that it was impossible for me to see her from my spot on the floor. All that told me she was still there was the faint rustle of her movements and the rhythmic gasps she made as she cried. The noise gradually settled down until the room was completely silent save for our breathing. I knew then that she'd gone back to sleep.

I sat on the floor, watching the snow whirl past outside the window through the sliver of light between the curtains. There was something reassuring about the steady flutter of white that had me unable to turn away.

I wanted to wake Rose up, to comfort her, but I had nothing to say.

I had a feeling she felt the same way.

My cell phone rang suddenly, and I reached up numbly to pull it off the dresser. I didn't bother looking at the number; there was only one person who could possibly be calling me at a time like this.

"Christian?"

Ragged breathing. "Dimitri. Thank God you answered. What the hell just happened? Rose was talking to me in Lissa's body. She was _talking_. Man, it was creepy. What happened with you?"

That was when I realised the situation was much worse than I'd first thought. I stood up slowly and left the room. "Rose and Lissa were talking to each other in Rose's body. It sounded like Lissa's mind had somehow catapulted from her own body into Rose's, and Rose's into Lissa's. Lissa started going crazy, and then Rose was there, telling her she needed to get back to her own body. I think Rose took Lissa's darkness after that, and then she went insane."

Silence from Christian. Then: "Whoa. This is not good, buddy. Not good at all."

"I know," I agreed. "But I don't know what we can do. This is something to do with their bond. It happened before once, back when Jesse and the Mână tried to force Lissa to join. The darkness was threatening to take over her, and from what I've heard from Rose, Lissa was using dark magic—making them have terrible hallucinations of their worst nightmares… things like that. So Rose took the darkness and pulled it into her own mind. When I found her, she looked like she would kill someone. That's what I think happened today. Rose pulled the darkness from Lissa's mind, and took the brunt of the madness."

"How is she?" I was touched at the concern in Christian's voice.

I grimaced. "Not good. She's been crying, so I still don't think she's completely herself. Not yet, anyway. How's Lissa?"

Christian cleared his throat. "She passed out after Rose left her mind, and when she woke up she just burst into tears. I know she needs comforting, but I just had to call you first."

"We'll have to just figure this out when Rose and I get back to Court. Until then, there's not much we can do."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. Well, I need to get back to Lissa and you need to get back to Rose, so… I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." I rang off and crept to the bedroom door, half expecting someone to burst in any second wondering what all the screaming was about. I opened it quietly and peered out into the hallway, which was dimly lit by the glowing lamp on the table beside Mama's bedroom. I tiptoed along the corridor and down the stairs, wary all the time of Rose sleeping in my room. I searched the entire ground floor and didn't find anyone, much to my relief. I guessed they were all out taking advantage of the snow.

It was during my second sweep of the house that I came across Babushka lying asleep on the couch. Her eyes opened as I moved closer to her, but I knew by the emptiness they held that she wasn't fully awake.

"Dimka," she hissed to herself, and touched my face. I leaned closer. "Dimka, soon Roza will need you more than ever. They have made the impossible possible. A miracle; a real miracle. Everyone will hold their breath to see the outcome. It will make you happy, but only for a short time. Help her, Dimka! Save her from her fate!"

With that, she closed her eyes and fell still. I wondered in vain what she meant. Her speech had seemingly been comprised of random words and phrases she'd picked out of mid air. Something was going to happen, I'd gathered that much. Rose and I wouldn't get the happy ending we'd sought just yet.

Shaking all thoughts of Babushka out of my head, I climbed the stairs and fell into bed beside a sound asleep Rose. It only took mere minutes this time for me to fall asleep.

When I woke up, Rose wasn't beside me. After everything that'd happened the previous day, I just wanted to hold her close to me and reassure both of us that we'd be alright regardless of what fate threw at us.

I missed her familiar warmth beside me, the scent of her hair, the presence she exuded when she was in the room. It didn't feel right when she wasn't there.

I lay in bed with my hands behind my head for a few minutes, waiting to see if she'd show up. Sure enough, she appeared in the doorway before long, in sweatpants and a long-sleeved blue t-shirt, clutching her wash bag in one hand.

"You're awake," she said carefully, setting the bag down on the dresser.

"About yesterday…" I began, sitting up, but she held up a hand.

"I can't tell you what happened, because I don't know. I'm so sorry about what I said to you, and I hope I didn't hurt you too bad when I punched you."

"It was a good punch, under the circumstances," I joked lightly. "But I just wanted to tell you that the only person in the house when everything happened was Babushka, and she was in one of her trances. So I propose we just get on with things as normal and pretend nothing happened."

"Good plan." Rose came and sat down hesitantly beside me. She touched my eye gently, making it throb. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really. Not _yet_," I amended. "But it might in a few days. Who knows."

She winced. "So what about Yeva and her trance? Is she alright?"

"Fine. She was mumbling about something, but I didn't understand what she meant at all."

Maybe it was just the light in the room, but it looked like Rose lost colour in her face. "What did she say?"

I leaned forward so my elbows were resting on my knees and my hands were braced on either side of my head. Rose was holding her breath.

I quickly recounted what Babushka had said to me. "It didn't make any sense," I finished, glancing at Rose sideways. "You'd tell me if you had a problem, right? You'd tell me if something was going on?"

"Of course I would," she whispered, putting a hand on my upper back. I ran my fingers through my hair restlessly.

"Well, I'd better get dressed. We have a lot to do today," I said, standing up and stretching.

"We do?" Rose looked confused.

"We do. I promised to take Paul sledding and a little birdie called Viktoria told me you'd agreed to start planning the wedding."

"Agreed is a little optimistic," Rose argued as she tied her hair back. "But I guess sorting things out a little won't be too bad." Her eyes sparkled as she grinned.

"Not too bad at all," I agreed.

Viktoria was quick in getting the ball rolling. As soon as we'd finished breakfast, she skidded into the room clutching my laptop, a notebook, a handful of pens and a wad of magazines. She took one look at the two of us washing up and made a face.

"Please can we forget about dishes for one second and just relax?" she whined, setting her things on the table and falling into a chair.

"I'm sure planning a wedding with you will be anything but relaxing, Vika," I teased, rinsing off a plate and setting it on the drainer. My little sister scowled as Rose dried the plate off and added it to the neat pile on the counter next to her. Viktoria's frown grew more pronounced as we continued to wash and dry without a care in the world.

"Seriously, guys, you're driving me crazy here!"

"We know," we replied at once, and shared a quiet laugh at Viktoria's expense.

"Fine. I'll start planning by myself. Hmm… let's see. These bridesmaid dresses are _gorgeous_!" she cried, holding up one of the magazines, which I could now see were of the bridal variety. The dresses she was pointing at were a blinding shade of red, with huge poofy skirts and enough netting to cover the floor of the Academy's gym a couple times over.

"Just go," Mama murmured, shaking her head from the doorway. "She won't leave you alone until you do. And besides, I can do those dishes."

"But—"

"Dimitri."

I sighed and dried my hands with Rose's dishtowel. "Fine."

We took our seats at the table beside Viktoria warily, eyeing the wedding junk she'd collected just for this moment.

"Where'd you get the magazines?" I asked, picking one up and flipping through it curiously. The sheer amount of dresses and bright colours gave me an instant headache, and I set the offending object back on the table.

"Sonya and Karolina bought them a while back when it looked like Karolina and Grigori were going to stay together. But now she's going out with Anton so she might still need them."

"For the last time, I am _not_ going out with Anton, Vika!" came Karolina's annoyed voice from the living room.

"That's what they all say," Viktoria muttered, turning back to my laptop, which was still booting up.

This made Rose laugh, but she said nothing. The nervous electricity pouring out of her was off the scale; I had a feeling the whole wedding situation was only starting to sink in for her now. I laid my hand over hers, meaning to be supportive, but as she stared at our intertwined fingers like a startled deer, I realised I'd just drawn attention to the sparkling engagement ring on her fourth finger.

"You're still sure about this? We can wait…" I murmured, quiet enough that Viktoria didn't hear. She wouldn't be too happy about waiting.

"No, no," Rose said quickly, startled. "I'm fine. I was just thinking some things over. In fact, I want to get married as soon as possible."

I smiled at the thought of marrying Rose sooner rather than later.

Viktoria looked mildly horrified. "We're not talking about a wedding at the nearest registry office next weekend or something, are we? Because I'll kill you if you're thinking about doing that."

"No," Rose laughed. "I was thinking… April time, maybe. It'll be spring, and I'll be nineteen by then."

"I like April. Although there's always a chance it might rain…" I trailed off, imagining it.

"Yes. April showers," Mama piped up helpfully.

Vika shot her a look that she thankfully didn't see.

"April, then?" she confirmed. After receiving two nods, she typed it into my laptop with a look of satisfaction. "So what about the venue? You guys aren't going to get married at Court, are you?"

I opened my mouth to say that yes, of course we were, but then thought again. A lot of people, Moroi and dhampirs alike, were unhappy with Rose's and my engagement because they felt like we were neglecting our duties by loving each other. Rose received most of the criticisms because she was charged with guarding the last Dragomir, whereas my charge was one of many Ozeras, and an apparently 'unstable' one at that. I, however, was harshly judged for my decision to enter into a public relationship with my seven years junior former student.

And although none of this bothered either of us, I'd rather not have to worry about it on my wedding day.

Rose must've been thinking the same thing because she looked at me and said, "Maybe we could find a hotel near Court or something."

I nodded in agreement and turned to Viktoria. "Leave that blank. We'll sort it out when we get home."

She wrote 'venue unknown' and moved on to her next question. I looked around for a list, because surely she couldn't be rhyming this off the top of her head, but I couldn't see one. My sister was certainly prepared to play wedding planner.

"Okay," she said slowly, "So do you want it to be a big wedding? Or maybe something small and personal?"

"We'll draw up an approximate guest list and get back to you. But I can't see it being a huge wedding." I looked at Rose to see if she agreed. She nodded along.

"We don't know many people, really…" she mused.

Viktoria sighed and closed her eyes. "You're not giving me much to work with here. Okay, so what about the colours?"

"I'm guessing red?"

Rose flashed her engagement ring. "Duh… as long as that's okay with you."

"Not sure how Christian's going to feel about having to wear a potentially red suit, but I like it."

"Red… and gold, maybe?" Viktoria thought out loud, looking upwards like she could see into her own mind.

Rose shook her head. "Everyone does red and gold, or red and cream. And besides, Lissa's always wanted to have a gold wedding. How about red and _silver_?"

"Sounds nice to me." Viktoria shrugged.

"Me too," I agreed, and she wrote it in.

"Do you have a rough idea who you want your best man and maid of honour to be?"

The hope in Viktoria's eyes was plain to see. She really, really wanted to be a bridesmaid. I knew Rose had been sure about her being one anyway, but if Vika had been overlooked, I wasn't sure Rose would've been able to look her in the eyes now and not tell her what she wanted to hear.

"Well, I had asked Lissa to be my maid of honour but I'll need to check back with her because by the time the wedding rolls around she'll be like…" a pause as Rose counted the months, "Six months pregnant."

"True," I murmured. "Christian's agreed to be my best man, so that's sorted at least. And I'm thinking of asking Adrian and Mikhail to be my groomsmen."

"Adrian? That's surprising."

I smiled. "A call for truce."

"Let me see… I think my bridesmaids will be… Sydney, Karolina, Sonya and…" She took a long pause as she pretended to think. "You, of course!"

I think we both expected Viktoria to jump up and down and scream the house down, but she actually looked quite uncomfortable. I couldn't guess why.

"Rose, umm—"

"In fact," Rose continued without acknowledging Viktoria, "I think I'll go and ask them right now."

"Rose, wait… Err… my sisters can't be bridesmaids at your wedding because they'll have the same problem as Lissa."

It took me a few seconds to realise what Viktoria was saying. Karolina and Sonya were _both_ pregnant? It seemed someone had forgotten to tell us the good news.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. Damn. Looks like it'll just be you and Sydney then."

"Wait, you _knew_?" Vika cried.

"I suppose everyone thought it wasn't important enough to tell me?" I said to no one in particular.

"Sorry, Dimka." Viktoria bowed her head.

"Yeah, sorry. I meant to tell you yesterday but we had a lot going on so…"

"It's fine," I replied. "So what's your next question, Vika?"

"Flowers?"

Rose closed her eyes and smiled to herself. "I was thinking red roses and white daisies with climbing ivy wrapped around sprayed silver twigs and for foliage… hmm… maybe phormium tenax to give it some height."

"Look at you, Little Miss Green Fingers. Since when do you know so much about flowers?"

Rose looked away, embarrassed. "Lissa asked me about flowers last week and I had no idea, so I've been thinking about it ever since."

"Well it sounds beautiful," I told her proudly. She really was taking this seriously, not that I'd doubted her in the first place.

"So," Viktoria scanned her list carefully. "You guys will have to sort out the venue, outfits, cake, food, invitations etc. when you get home, but at least we got things started today."

"You should seriously think about going into wedding planning, Vik. You're so organised."

"I try," Viktoria replied modestly, grinning at Rose as she shut the laptop down. "So, can we go sledding now?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You heard about that, did you?"

"Duh. Paul hasn't shut up about it since you promised you'd take him yesterday."

"Right. Well, then, we might as well all go. Tell Sonya and Karolina in case they want to tag along, and go get your coat. We'll head down to the slope in about twenty minutes."

"Hey! Viktoria!"

Viktoria, Rose and I turned in unison to see Nikolai trudging through the snow behind us, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Sonya, Karolina and Mama had decided to stay at home so the only other person present was Paul, who was oblivious to Nikolai's attempts at getting Viktoria's attention.

Nikolai grinned as he came closer to us. "Dimitri. Hey. Long time no see!"

"Hello Nik," I replied with a smile of my own.

It took him a little longer to recognise who else was with us. "_Rose_? Hey! You look happier since the last time I saw you."

This seemed a rather inappropriate thing to say seeing as last time they'd seen each other, Rose had been in Baia to attend my memorial service, but I didn't raise this opinion out loud.

"So are you guys, like, back together?"

"We're getting married in a few months, actually," I answered, squeezing Rose's hand a little tighter.

"Congrats."

"How about you?"

"Still single." He let out a nervous laugh, and I knew why. He'd had a crush on Viktoria for years, and I'd always thought the feeling was mutual, but she was just too proud to admit it.

"Hey, why don't you come sledding with us?" Rose asked suddenly with a mischievous grin. I knew exactly what she was trying to do, but I didn't know if it would work.

"Sure, I'd love to." Nikolai returned her grin and fell into step beside us. I swore Viktoria was blushing behind her scarf when he talked to her, but I reasoned that she might just be cold.

After a few minutes of walking, the lovebirds had fallen behind. Rose seized her opportunity to ask a clearly important question. "Please, please, please let me play cupid. _Please_!" she whispered hopefully, turning her pleading brown eyes on me.

"Go ahead, but I can't see it going anywhere. Viktoria's too stubborn to admit she likes him."

"Just you wait and see, Dimitri. Just you wait and see."

"Your unswerving confidence is a start, at least," I retorted.

"Sarcasm doesn't look good on you, dearest," was her sweet reply.

I made a sound like 'pssh' and we lapsed into comfortable silence as we walked. Viktoria and Nikolai were chatting animatedly behind us about something that had happened in the school cafeteria the day before, and Paul was skipping along beside us, fascinated by the footprints his boots left in the snow. The top of his head only reached the middle of my upper arm, making him just over four feet tall. He was the shortest in his year at school now, and also one of the most immature, but we all suspected he would have a growth spurt around twelve or thirteen and end up being one of the tallest.

But for now he was tiny and, feeling sorry for his legs seeing as he had to almost run to keep up with us, I slowed my pace down a little to match his. Rose, without even seeming to realise, did the same.

We eventually reached the vast expanse of land just outside of town that lay beneath a massive slope. It was perfect for sledding, as I could testify after spending many happy winters out here with Ivan and my sisters. We even used to come out during summer to have picnics and climb the cluster of trees huddled at the top of the slope, when the weather was especially good.

For some reason, it made me sad to be back here. I'd grown up so much since the last time I'd been here when I was seventeen, and so much had changed about my life. It scared me a little, how drastically things could turn upside down and fix themselves up again in eight years.

I sighed, which earned me a confused look from Rose. I quickly shoved all thoughts of my rollercoaster life out of my mind and focused on what was ahead: an afternoon of fun with my family.

"Last one to the top's a loser!" Viktoria screamed, taking off in a sprint with Nikolai hot on her heels.

"Hey, no fair! I have sleds to drag!" Rose yelled after them, tugging the two offending sleds behind her.

"Uncle Deeeeee," Paul whined. "Why aren't we running? We can't win now!"

"I'm not sure we could win anyway, Paul. We're too far behind."

"I can't. My legs are too short. But I bet you could."

I grinned down at him, realising that maybe I could've, had I run when he'd first asked me. "Tell you what. We'll challenge the girls later and see who wins then."

We settled for just walking and were about half way up when Rose let out a whoop of triumph. A song that sounded like an edited version of _We are the Champions_ floated down from above.

"Aunty Rose is really funny," Paul observed.

"She is," I agreed, chuckling at her attempt to hit the high notes.

"Is that why you want her to marry you?" he asked.

I glanced down at him, a little startled. "Part of the reason, yes."

He couldn't say anything else because we'd reached the top of the hill, where Viktoria was calling first go on the sled. She eventually persuaded Nik onto the other one and they flew off down the slope, spraying snow and shouting across to each other as they disappeared into the white.

I let Paul down and went to stand with Rose. Seeing as I'd been the one to help Paul find his coat, which was never where he claimed to have left it, this was the first good look I got of her.

She was obviously trying for cute, and she pulled it off effortlessly. Her long hair had been teased into messy braids, partly hidden beneath a blue and white stripy hat topped with a pompom. A matching scarf was around her neck, tucked beneath the collar of her creamy coloured jacket. She wore plain sweatpants and heavy boots, appropriate attire for this kind of weather. And speaking of the weather…

"This place might be an artic wasteland, but damn it, it's a pretty one," Rose said suddenly, shielding her eyes with her hand as she squinted through the snowy haze at the mountains across from us. "I wouldn't have minded growing up here."

I sank cross-legged onto the snow and nodded. "I couldn't have picked a more perfect hometown myself."

"And," she continued dreamily, "It's so refreshing to not be on a nocturnal schedule. I never realise how much I've missed the sun until I see it again." She tipped her face up to the sky as though the sun's rays could reach her through the almost impenetrable blanket of snow between them.

I smiled, taking it all in. Viktoria and Nikolai were laughing and screaming as they lay at the bottom of the slope together making snow angels, barely visible beneath the snow, which was still falling in thick sheets. The sky and ground were white, giving the land around us a spherical feel. I was glad Paul was wearing a dark green jacket, in case I lost him. Rose, though, in cream, would be much more difficult to find.

Viktoria eventually made it to the top of the slope, with Nikolai not far behind her. They were giggling madly at something, so much that they could hardly speak.

"Your… turn," Viktoria gasped, throwing the pull cord in my direction.

Rose cast me a sly glance and shook her head. "It's fine," she said cheerfully. "You and Nik can go again. Dimitri and I don't mind sitting up here a while longer."

"Oh… well, okay then." Vika shrugged and beckoned Paul over. "We'll share, and Nikolai, you can—"

"I don't want to share," Paul said slowly, like it was obvious. He was normally pretty easygoing, so this startled me a little. It seemed I wasn't the only one.

"Right, err…" she looked around helplessly.

"We'll share this one," Nik supplied confidently, and then took another look at the sled which, in all honesty, was quite small. His smile faltered a little. "…If we can."

They slid onto the sled, careful not to touch each other. I couldn't read Viktoria's expression because she had her face turned away from me, but Nikolai looked like being so close without being able to grab my sister and kiss him was killing me. He shot us a helpless look, his eyes wide. Rose gave him thumbs up and I winked, letting him know we were in on the plan.

With a whoop, Viktoria pushed off and we didn't see any more of them.

Paul hopped onto his sled too and grabbed the pull cord to hold on to. "Did I do a good job?" he asked, his brown eyes wide as he stared up at Rose.

"You did great!" she praised, ruffling his hair. "Now go… and be careful!"

The pieces clicked together in my head. I'd thought it had been strange. "You made him say that, about not wanting to share," I realised as he, too, disappeared from sight.

"Course I did."

"You really are a mastermind, aren't you?" I crowed, pulling her into my arms. She rested her head on my chest as she laughed.

"Bet you ten dollars they kiss at the end of this run."

I shook my head. "Why would I bet when I agree with you?"

"You're no fun," Rose pouted. "Look." She pointed over my shoulder.

We broke apart and turned in unison to look at what was happening at the bottom of the hill. Paul was starting his way back up again, so thankfully he didn't see.

Viktoria was lying sprawled in the snow, having fallen when the sled stopped. Nik was on his feet, extending a hand to help her up. She took it and pulled herself up. They were face to face.

This was the moment of truth.

A couple seconds of awkwardness passed between them; maybe words were exchanged. I couldn't tell. Then slowly, like he was trying not to scare her, Nik leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her waist…

And then I turned to Rose, because I felt creepy watching her.

"Did they kiss?" I asked.

She looked confused. "Why don't you—oh yeah, sister… right. Um, yeah. They're doing it right now."

Paul had just reached the top of the slope.

"Come on," I told her. "Paul, stay _right_ here, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, sitting down.

I pulled Rose onto the sled with me and wrapped my arms tight around her. "This is going to go way too fast," I warned her. Our combined weights meant we'd go far faster than if we'd been going one at a time.

Before I could worry about leaving Paul on his own, we were off, reaching speeds that it should've been impossible to reach on a crudely constructed wooden board. Something about it was completely exhilarating though: whether it was the freezing cold wind whipping past our faces, the muted slicing sound of snow underneath us or the smoothness and velocity with which we travelled down the slope, I didn't know.

Rose looked just as happy as I felt, urging us forward with a huge grin on her face. She looked freezing, but she didn't seem to care about the cold any more than I did.

It was all over too soon. After sliding to a halt, we stepped off and made our way over to the lovebirds, who were still having a moment. Rose and I exchanged a look, and I think we both knew how to handle the situation.

I marched over and pulled Nikolai's collar back a little. He broke away from Viktoria and turned to stare at me with horror.

"Err…"

I lifted him up by the front of his coat, not enough to hurt him but enough to give him a fright. He audibly gulped. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"Um… I thought—I mean, I thought you were okay—"

"I am anything but okay with it," I interrupted, letting him go.

"Come on, Viktoria," Rose said quietly. "We need to get you home. Olena will be so disappointed in you."

"Would you guys catch a grip? I mean—"

Rose burst out laughing then, so we couldn't continue the joke any longer. Viktoria and Nikolai shared a weary look.

"Very funny."

"Wasn't it?" Rose replied, still laughing.

"Listen… uh, fun as you guys are and everything, we're gonna split. See you… later." Viktoria grabbed Nik's hand and pulled him into the cover of the trees and out of sight before we could even object.

"Well then… guess we'd better go and check on Paul."

We jogged back up the hill again, and Paul was right where we'd left him on the ground. His eyes lit up when he caught sight of us and the two sleds.

"Let's go again!" he cried.

And that was how the rest of the afternoon progressed. We'd taken turns speeding down the hill, and then having to make the dreaded run back up again. When we'd arrived home, there was still no sign of Viktoria and Nikolai, but Mama had freshly made pancakes waiting for us on the table. She wanted to know everything that had happened. Later on, we'd all sat around and watched Russian gameshows on TV while I translated what was going on to Rose. The yawning started at about ten o'clock. It was then I remembered neither of us had had a good night's sleep thanks to spirit's antics.

We turned in for an early night, and as I was lying in bed in the dark, hoping to fall asleep, I prayed. That wasn't something I normally did, but I felt it was called for. Rose didn't need any more stress in her life.

And it was for that reason that I prayed the world would just leave her—leave us—alone.

I felt like, by now, we deserved it.

* * *

><p><strong>I usually write more here but Two Broke Girls just started...<strong>

**see ya!**

**Annie x**


	17. AN UBER IMPORTANT AN!

Hey, guys (if I have any readers left!)! Annie here, obviously:D I just wanted to give you guys an update into what I've been doing this past while. I've posted a variation of this on Hungry for You as well, because I'm currently working hard on fixing up that story (you'll see what I mean in a minute.)

First off, I'm not going to lie. I sort of lost my way in regards to writing for a while there. I couldn't think, couldn't plan, couldn't write and therefore, couldn't update. My motivation level was literally below zero, especially after I admitted to myself that I might've been putting all my energy into being a writer just to save myself from having to think of something else to do with my life.

But anyway, that's not my point. _I CATEGORICALLY REFUSE TO LEAVE MY STORIES UNFINISHED_. That is the bottom line here. However, after receiving some very helpfully critical (thank you, anon!) reviews, I thought it was time to fill you guys in.

The true reason why I haven't updated is because I'm embarrassed by the quality of previous chapters of my stories. I was but a naïve thirteen year old when I started writing on FanFiction, and I'm at that age (I'll be sixteen next month) where, with every chapter, my writing is improving and changing into my own style. Which is why…

I'm having a huge overhaul of my stories. Seeing as I feel Hungry for You needs the most work, it's the one I've been editing the most (I've been doing this for a few months now). As much as I'm grateful for the aforementioned constructive criticism, I'm writing this just to let you guys know I'm well aware that the maths don't add up, and the story's inconsistent and the characters are painfully OOC, etc etc. And as for my other stories, some of them have too many fillers, are pretty much plotless, don't do what they say on the tin… you get what I mean. Seeing as I'm way too damn proud, I hate the fact that this crappy writing is up here for the world to see with my name attached to it:P it might sound harsh to some people, but that's just the way I am.

So, yeah, to finish up my ramble, I have made a firm resolution to start PLANNING my stories beforehand (the lack of this is the reason for a lot of the inconsistencies), and keeping a careful eye that my logic doesn't contradict itself throughout the story. I won't be updating the new chapters until they are all finished so that the story makes sense when read from start to finish. But when I do get them finished (hopefully soonish, although don't expect too much, I _am_ in the middle of my GCSE's) I'll get them up all at once so you guys won't have to wait ages to get back to the point in the story you were at.

With all that in mind, bear with me guys, there are great things to come from me! And thank you so much to each and every person who's ever so much as clicked on one of my stories, but especially to my lovely reviewers who've stuck with me all this time. You guys know who you are!

See you soon,

Annie


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